A Long Way Home
by LizzieInk
Summary: (Set directly after 10x21 "Berlin") ..Left injured and temporarily out of action, how will Tony and Ziva handle being stuck on the sidelines while their team rushes to close the case? Will Tony and Ziva follow orders? Or take matters into their own hands? A story about the importance of family and friendship. Full length case. Now rated T for light violence. NOW COMPLETE.
1. Chapter 1

**Title: A Long Way Home (an NCIS fan-fiction)**

**Author: LizzieInk**

**A/N: Please check out my profile page for more NCIS stories. Once this fan-fiction is complete, I am going to write a follow-up, so stay tuned!**

**Disclaimer: These characters do not belong to me, I am merely borrowing them for the duration of this story.**

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**PROLOGUE**

_Tony reached across the car and took Ziva's hand, tenderly interlacing his fingers between her own. Today had a been a long day. They had travelled all the way to Berlin on one of Ziva's hunches, hoping to find and apprehend Bodnar for the murder of Director David. Although the mission hadn't quite worked out the way that they had planned, it could still be classed as mildly successful. _

_Tony and Ziva had been unable to capture Bodnar, however they had managed to capture his brother instead. Perhaps they would be able to get some helpful Intel from him concerning his brothers whereabouts. So in this sense, the trip hadn't turned out to be a total let down. _

_In fact the trip hadn't really been much of a let down at all._

_Ziva looked at Tony and smiled as he held her hand lovingly in his own. Ziva had spent so long feeling nothing but upset and angry at her fathers murder, that it was nice to get away from it all for a while. Even though the trip to Berlin had been to apprehend Bodnar, for the first time in a long time Ziva was actually starting to find comfort from the memories that she had of her father. The trip, although a trying one, had allowed her to open her mind to a lot of things that she had been missing. Not only in concerns to her father but also in regards to Tony too. _

_Ever since her fathers death, Tony had been there for Ziva no matter what. It seemed that Tony had always known what she had needed, even before she knew it herself. There had been so many times that she had felt herself coming apart at the seams, only to turn around and find that Tony was there to put her back together again. He had gone from being her partner, to being her friend and her rock, and more recently he had started to become something much more. He had chased away her nightmares, had hugged her before her father's funeral telling her just what she needed to hear, and then in Berlin…_

_In Berlin, they had danced together…. It was only a dance… and yet… at the same time it had meant so much more to her than she could ever say._

_Wanting to tell Tony how much his actions had meant to her since her fathers death, Ziva looked at him, and while gently squeezing his hand, she began to speak. But no sooner had she spoken his name than an SUV launched itself into the side of their car with deadly force and accuracy. Ziva's side took the brunt of the hit. _

_The glass in her window shattered instantly, spraying them both with shards of glass, while a tremendous sound of metal grating on metal echoed around them. _

_Tony cried out Ziva's name, and did his best to pull her against him as the car began to spin out of control. _

_When their vehicle finally came to a stand still, Tony tried to reach out and once again take Ziva's hand. However, the effort proved to be too much for him, as all he was able to do was take one last look at Ziva… before his vision turned black._

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

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**Authors Note: I included this 'prologue' chapter to set the scene for the following chapters. Now that you are all up to speed with the finale of the Berlin episode, please read on and enjoy! The following chapters follow my own storyline, and basically see the Bodnar case through to its end. In my opinion this is how this story arc should have happened. I hope you like it! ;)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Title: A Long Way Home (Chapter Two)**

**Author: LizzieInk**

**A/N: This chapter picks up moments after the car crash at the end of episode 10x21 Berlin.**

**Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with the show NCIS. **

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Time had lost all meaning.

Tony's mind was cloudy. His memories disjointed. He wasn't sure how long he had been unconscious, hell he was having trouble battling off the fog that was trying to pull him back under even now. The last thing he could remember was holding Ziva's hand…

_Oh God… Ziva. _Tony thought as the image of headlights and the sound of metal assaulted his mind. _Someone hit us… _The terrible memory of what happened jolted him awake, and his eyes shot open.

A moment later Tony was hit by a wave of tremendous pain radiating through his body. His legs were obviously badly injured, and his head was throbbing. But his first thoughts were not of his own safety, but for the safety of his partner.

Tony had trouble remaining conscious as he tried to turn his head very slightly, to try and see if Ziva was okay. He quickly realized that moving was not a good idea. This one small movement caused a sharp searing pain in his shoulder. Not only that but he felt a drip running slowly down his neck. Was his head bleeding? There was no way to know for sure without moving too much. Deciding that his best option was to remain still, Tony spoke quietly, his voice rough with pain, "Ziva? Ziva? Are you okay?"

There was no answer.

_Please No. _Tony thought to himself. _Not Ziva._

Tony vaguely became aware of the sound of approaching sirens.

_Please God let Ziva be okay, _Tony prayed to himself silently, before his vision once again faded to black.

* * *

On some level Tony knew that he was dreaming. But he just couldn't manage to wake up.

Familiar faces kept flashing through his mind; Gibbs… McGee… Abby… and Ziva. With each face came different feelings. Family. Friendship. Love.

Tony could hear the voices of his family in his mind as clear as day. McGee with his dependable comforting words, Abby with her overwhelming love and care, and Gibbs who could convey worlds just through one look alone, no words necessary. But there was one voice that he could not hear…

"…Zivaaa…" Tony murmured quietly.

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

"Tony wake up. Tony can you hear me? My name is Doctor Price."

"Tony wake up. Agent Dinozzo can you hear me?" Doctor Price repeated in a slow calming voice.

Tony murmured something unintelligible. His eyes flickering back and forth beneath his eyelids.

Tony had been at the hospital for just over an hour now. Preliminary tests showed that he had one broken leg. He also had a badly bruised shoulder and a minor head wound. He had hit his head against the side window of the car on first impact, which had resulted in a concussion. This was why he was taking a while to come around.

Doctor Price looked up from his patient and addressed a middle aged man standing by the door of the room.

"He should come around any time now." Dr. Price told the man, before making a small note in Tony's file. "If you will excuse me I have other patients to see, but feel free to push this button here for a nurse when he wakes up." The doctor indicated to the call button beside Tony's bed before putting Tony's file back in its correct place, and exiting the room.

Like a silent sentinel the other man remained, watching over Tony, waiting impatiently for the moment when he would finally wake up.

* * *

Tony slowly awoke to the sound of beeping machinery.

Slowly opening his eyes, he squinted against the harsh lighting.

"Gibbs" whispered Tony, as his eyes fell on the man that was stood watching him intently.

"Dinozzo," Gibbs replied, the relief clear in his voice. He stepped closer to the bed quietly, and asked, "do you remember what happened?"

"Errm… I was with Ziva." Tony replied groggily, his eyebrows furrowed in thought. Tony shook his head slightly as if trying to shake his memories into clearer focus.

"We were heading back to NCIS to put the diamonds in Evidence Storage, and then…" Tony trailed off. Closing his eyes at the pain of the memories that came next.

"And then?" Gibbs encouraged.

"There was a crash. A dark SUV… It hit us. Where is Ziva? Is she okay?" Tony asked slowly his voice catching.

Gibbs smiled softly. "Don't worry Tony. She will be fine. The two of you were both pretty out of it after the crash, and you both lost consciousness. But she got off pretty lightly considering the passenger side of the car was the point of impact. Unlike you she has suffered no head injury. Although she does have a few broken ribs and a broken arm."

A tear escaped Tony's eyes, as he blinked slowly, focusing his gaze on the ceiling above him. He couldn't help replaying the scene over in his mind; him noticing the car that was speeding towards them, and then quickly trying to envelope Ziva in his arms before the initial impact.

As if he'd read Tony's thoughts, Gibbs spoke quietly, "Ziva was somehow protected from most of the impact." His eyes searched Tony's carefully.

Tony lowered his eyes from the ceiling, "Where is she?"

"She's been placed in the room next door. Ducky is keeping an eye on her." Gibbs replied.

Tony smiled a little at the knowledge of this. He was glad to hear that Ziva wasn't alone. Ducky and Ziva had always gotten along so well. Ducky was practically a grandfather to all of them, but Ziva had always seemed to have a special place in his heart. They had always been close, probably because, like Ziva, Ducky was also originally from somewhere else. They had bonded over their need to find a home, a place where they both felt that they truly belonged.

* * *

Tony looked at Gibbs closely, "Thanks boss," he said slowly.

Wondering what Tony could possibly need to thank him for, Gibbs merely nodded his head, before getting quietly to his feet.

"Rest," he said to Dinozzo, as he quietly left the room.

Tony pressed the painkiller button a couple of times, smiling to himself, happy in the knowledge that he and Ziva had both made it out of another dangerous situation together… and that they were going to be okay.

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_**Authors Note: Thank you to everyone who has followed this story, added it to their favourites list, and/or left a review. Your support means a lot. ;)**_


	3. Chapter 3

**Title:**** A Long Way Home (Chapter Three)**

**Author: LizzieInk**

**A/N: This chapter is told from the point of view of McGee, as I wanted to show the reactions of the rest of the team. I hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer: These characters belong to CBS, not me. :)**

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McGee paced the length of the waiting room anxiously, running his hand impatiently through his cropped hair. He had come straight to the hospital after working the crime scene.

Agent Timothy McGee had arrived on scene shortly after Tony and Ziva had been driven off in the ambulance. The scene wasn't any more or less horrific than any other crime scene he had ever worked, and yet the sight he had been met with upon his arrival had left him reeling.

The car Tony and Ziva had been driving was wrecked, the front passenger side had all but folded in on itself, with broken glass from the window left littering the floor of the vehicle. However the image that McGee couldn't rid his mind of was the blood.

There had been a significant amount of blood on both of the front seats, as well as on the floor of the drivers side of the vehicle, and although McGee knew that Tony and Ziva had not been killed instantaneously, he couldn't quite manage to quench the fear that was trying to claw its way into the back of his mind. McGee had seen too many horrible things during his time as a field agent, and he had trouble keeping his mind from dwelling on worst case scenarios.

McGee and Gibbs had worked the scene quickly, forcing themselves to think of nothing but the task at hand. The fact that Tony and Ziva had been alive meant that Ducky was free from duties, and instead had headed straight to the hospital with Abby to await any news.

Gibbs and McGee had combed the crime scene in silence, photographing and bagging evidence. Fortunately as there had been no witnesses there was no need to conduct any interviews. Even though this meant that they had no idea who had performed the hit and run, as the offending car had been left abandoned, they had been glad of the speed at which the crime scene could be processed. After doing as much as they could, McGee and Gibbs had left the crime scene in the hands of other officials, so that both the vehicles could be delivered to the evidence garage back at NCIS headquarters.

Analysing the vehicles could wait. The safety of their team mates could not. Gibbs had wanted round the clock protection on Ziva and Tony until they found out who was after them. Even though McGee had relayed that whoever had hit them had gotten the diamonds, which was probably what they came for anyway, Gibbs was still adamant that his agents needed protection. He had lost too many people in the past already and he wasn't about to lose any more now.

So Gibbs and McGee, after processing the crime scene as best they could under the circumstances, had rushed to the hospital to check on the status of their friends.

* * *

Upon their arrival at the hospital, McGee and Gibbs had found Ducky and Abby waiting nervously in the waiting room. Duck and Abbs had heard no news yet, other than to say that their agents were still alive. They were still waiting for word from a Doctor in regards to the seriousness of Tony and Ziva's injuries.

Fortunately they didn't have too long to wait, as a Doctor had then pushed through a set of double doors nearby and proceeded to call out Dr. Mallard's and Abby Scuito's names. Abby had been on edge, and was shaking with nervous energy, as she had leapt towards the doctor, asking for any further news about their friends. Ducky, Gibbs and McGee had all followed Abby quietly.

The doctor had smiled comfortingly as he told them the news. "Your agents have both been extremely fortunate. They both have broken bones, and have of course sustained many cuts and bruises, both from broken glass and the impact of the crash. Agent Dinozzo has also suffered a minor bump to the back of his head, and is currently suffering from a concussion, but other than that both of your agents are doing great. Agent David was conscious when I left her, although still slightly confused, and we are hopeful that Agent Dinozzo will wake up soon. Both of the patients are currently having casts and bandages applied."

McGee upon hearing the Doctors words; that Tony and Ziva had been incredibly lucky, had turned to Abby and enveloped her in a tight hug. Clinging to each other, Abby had burst into tears of relief while McGee had held her tight, comforting her while at the same time drawing strength from her touch.

Gibbs and Ducky had been quick to request that they be allowed to sit with the patients. Gibbs explained to the Doctor that their investigation into the attacker's identity was still active, and upon voicing his concern for his agent's safety, had insured that he and Ducky could both go through to see Tony and Ziva, while two hospital security staff were posted outside of their doors.

McGee and Abby had been pacing the waiting room ever since, waiting for Gibb's to come and tell them that they could finally see their friends.

* * *

When Gibbs emerged from behind the double doors, Abby almost jumped out of her skin, while McGee had cast an anxious glance at his boss. Stepping forward nervously McGee uttered a single word.

"Gibbs?" He asked tensely. McGee's pain and worry was evident in his voice.

Thankfully Gibbs stepped forward and smiled, clasping McGee's shoulder warmly.

"Tony will see you now McGee. He just woke up." Gibbs then turned to Abby and hugged her reassuringly. "Come on Abbs, how about you give Ducky a break and come and sit with Ziva for a while?"

Abby stepped back from Gibbs with tears in her eyes and gave Gibbs a weak but happy smile: "I'd like that," she replied, before linking her arm comfortingly through his and allowing Gibbs to lead her towards their friends. McGee taking Abby's other hand in his own, followed silently.

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**A/N: Thank you all for the encouraging feedback. I love reading all of your reviews. ;)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Title: A Long Way Home (Chapter Four)**

**Author: LizzieInk**

**A/N: Here is a great Tony/McGee scene for you all to enjoy. I loved writing this. Poor McGee quite often gets overlooked in the show. This is my way of showing how much he matters to the team. I hope you like it! :)**

**Disclaimer: The characters in this story belong to the creators of NCIS.**

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Gibbs led Abby and McGee quietly along the corridor, finally coming to a halt in front of a door towards the end of the hall.

"McGee," Gibbs murmured. McGee looked at him and nodded in understanding. This must be Tony's room. McGee gave Abby's hand, which he was still holding tightly, one last squeeze before letting it go. Abby gave him a small encouraging smile, before continuing on down the hallway with Gibbs.

McGee placed one hand lightly on the door handle, before closing his eyes and taking a deep steadying breath. Opening his eyes again, McGee quietly turned the door handle and stepped cautiously into Tony's room. He hadn't been quite sure what to expect. Even though McGee had heard the doctor list Tony's various injuries, actually seeing his team-mate and friend lying injured before him made his chest ache.

McGee had known Tony for about 10 years, and over that time he had begun to think of him as a brother. Indeed it was hard not to. McGee spent more time with his work family than he did with his real one, and the bond they had all formed with each other was irreplaceable. Sure they made fun of each other, and got on each others nerves sometimes, but there was no beating Tony for the loyalty that he showed towards his friends. McGee smiled slightly at the thought, and then making himself breathe deeply, he took a few steps towards Tony's bed.

Dinozzo had been looking out the window and hadn't heard McGee come in. However, sensing that he was no longer alone, Tony carefully repositioned his head on his pillow, so that he could get a better view of Tim. Tony was careful not to move too suddenly as his shoulder was very painful, not to mention the fact that he had a small head wound on the left side of his head from were his head had collided with the side window of the car during the crash.

McGee was quick to notice the pain in Tony's eyes, and his eyebrows furrowed with concern.

"Hey Tony, how are you feeling?"

"I'm not going to lie McGoogle, I've definitely been better," replied Tony with a wry smile.

"I can call for a nurse if you need anything?" McGee offered.

"Got everything I need right here," said Dinozzo, slowly gesturing towards the button beside him.

"Painkillers Tony?" McGee said with a chuckle, "I still remember that time that you broke your nose. Do you remember how you kept begging the nurse for more pain meds? You were as high as a kite before we arrived back at headquarters." McGee reminisced with a smile. Looking over at Tony, the small smile quickly slid from his face.

"I'm fine Timmy," Tony whispered, "today's probably not the best day to get high on pain meds though."

"How do you figure that?" Asked McGee with a genuinely confused look on his face. "Tony you just got hit by a car."

"Gibbs told me that Ziva has some broken ribs and a broken arm," Tony replied quietly, "you know as well as I do that that's not enough to keep her here for long. She'll want to be where the fight is. Ziva has never been one to let others see her as weak… no matter what the circumstances."

"You might be right with most of that theory Tony, but you're wrong about one thing," said McGee.

"Oh yeah, and what would that be?" replied Tony, the disbelief clear in his voice.

"Ziva lets her walls down around you Tony," McGee said quietly, "she may not let anyone else see how much she's hurting, but out of everyone here, you are the one that she opens up to the most. She needs that… You both do," he amended.

Tony looked at McGee in surprise.

"What? You didn't think that we'd notice the way you and Ziva look at each other? Come on Tony, we are trained investigators. It may have taken the two of you a long time to admit to yourselves that you actually have 'something,' but we always saw it." McGee leant his head to one side, as if deep in thought. "I guess what I am trying to say is if anyone can talk to Ziva and make her see sense it'll be you Tony. Don't worry, I don't think she would go after Bodnar without you."

There was a moment of silence as Tony took this in. After a couple of minutes had past Dinozzo looked at his friend and said in all seriousness, "Thanks Tim." Tim nodded his head, and the two friends sat in silence for a moment before Tony asked him an important question that had been nagging at him, while effectively changing the subject at the same time.

"Do you know who crashed into us?"

McGee looked at his friend thoughtfully, as if trying to decide how much he should tell Tony while he was in his current injured state. In the end, McGee seemed to decide that Tony would be sure to find out soon enough anyway, so he just told the truth.

"We didn't get them Tony. When Gibbs and I arrived on scene, the other car was already empty. There was a lot of blood, but no body." Tony dropped his eyes to look at a speck on his hospital blanket, as McGee continued; "the diamonds you were transporting back to evidence lock-up had gone too. Our theory is that Bodnar sent someone to retrieve the diamonds for him before they got back to NCIS. We don't know if you were necessarily the targets or not Tony, they might have just been after the diamonds."

Tony nodded carefully while looking at McGee. "I guess they probably just saw hitting us as a bonus then." He said, while lost in his thoughts.

McGee didn't reply but his silence said it all. He had come to the same conclusion as Tony. Although Bodnar had been close to Ziva at one stage, he obviously had no qualms about harming her now. He had ordered the hit on her father, and Bodnar was now fleeing from multiple organizations, including NCIS, Homeland Security and the Mossad. His loyalties had obviously long since gone out of the window. Bodnar wouldn't have blinked an eye at the thought of harming Tony and Ziva in the attempt to retrieve his diamonds. After all, he needed the diamonds so that he could escape and go into hiding, effectively allowing himself to slip under the radar and become invisible to all the authorities that where chasing him.

McGee gave Tony a moment to process his thoughts before he spoke again. "I'm glad you're okay Tony. After seeing that crime scene today, I thought…" McGee shuddered visibly as he remembered the terrible thoughts that had clouded his mind.

Tony, noticing his friends pain, shook himself out of his thoughts and replied; "Thought what McGee? Come on, surely you've realized by now that something as mundane as a car crash couldn't kill me? I mean I survived the plague, and then I practically got blown up." Tony smiled reassuringly at McGee. "Of course I'm fine."

Tim laughed appreciatively, allowing himself to be reassured, and grinned back at his friend. "Yeah I know Tony. All the same I am glad you're okay."

"Thanks McGoo," replied Tony. Tim just smiled even further at this. He had learnt long a go to let the name calling thing slide. It was just one of the many odd ways that Tony showed he cared.

Tim coughed and stepped back, breaking the moment of 'brotherly' bonding.

"I guess I should go and visit Ziva before I have to head back to work," McGee said regretfully, "with the team being rather low on members right now, Gibbs, Abby and I have a lot of work to do."

McGee patted Tony on the arm affectionately before heading towards the door. He stopped for a moment and looked over his shoulder at Tony; "I guess I should warn you that Abby has been more than a little worried about you. She's visiting Ziva now, I'll let her know she can stop by and see you." McGee said this with a smile, before leaving Tony in peace for the time being.

"Man your battle stations" Tony murmured to himself, chuckling wearily as he began to mentally prepare himself for the crazy whirlwind of energy, that he knew to be Miss Abigail Sciuto.

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**A/N: I am so excited to share the next chapter with you. Feedback appreciated! ;)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Title: A Long Way Home (Chapter Five)**

**Author: LizzieInk**

**A/N: ****I just want to give a quick shout out to a user called Tiva-McAbby-Densi-Neric-4ever, who has written a cute McAbby 'ficlet' based on the small moments I had McGee/Abby share within my chapter before last. If you are a fan of Abby and McGee you should go an check it out. I am blown away that my writing has inspired someone to go away and write a story of their own! :)**

**Disclaimer: Still stands.**

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Tony could hear Abby before he could see her. She was obviously wearing her heavily buckled platform boots today. Each footstep made a cheerful tinkling noise that grew louder as she walked towards Tony's private room.

Tony had just enough time to carefully reposition his heavily encased leg, which was starting to radiate a dull ache throughout his entire body, before Abby all but fell into the hospital room.

He couldn't help but smile warmly at her less than reserved entrance.

Abby was a walking contradiction, and was nothing if not interesting. She had many quirks. But although Abby dressed all in black and wore studded dog collars, she wasn't comfortable labelling herself as any one 'thing.' She liked to think of herself as simply her own person. Abby was friendly, warm and loyal and had a penchant for hugging everyone she met. And right now their was no one that Tony would rather see, excepting Ziva perhaps.

The pain in his leg was starting to drive him crazy, and he welcomed Abby's indomitable spirit as a much needed distraction.

As Abby shuffled towards him in her ridiculous platform shoes, Tony noticed the unshed tears glistening sadly in her eyes. Tony hated knowing that he had caused her so much worry.

Ever since the death of their beloved team-mate Kate years earlier, Abby had always taken any news regarding accidents badly. As close as Tony had been to Kate, it was Abby that had felt her loss the most, as they had been almost inseparable in the end. Tony knew that Abby's thoughts were probably going along the same lines as his own right now, so in an attempt to make her feel happier Tony did his best to mask the discomfort he was in.

Giving Abs the most reassuring smile that he could muster Tony flexed his fingers, and Abby correctly interpreting what Tony wanted, was quick to place her hand within his own.

"Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God." Abby muttered over and over again, while she gazed first at the bandage on the side of Tony's head, then at the bandage around his shoulder, before finally letting her eyes rest on the enormous cast that was now covering his leg.

"Abby," Tony murmured comfortingly.

It only took this one word from Tony for the tears in Abby's eyes to finally spill over. However, not one to dwell on sadness for long, Abby tried to pull herself together for Tony's sake and quickly swiped at the tears running down her cheeks. Shaking her head, as if trying to chase the tears away, she began to speak.

"God Tony, I was so worried about you both," she said clasping his hand tightly, "you were both so lucky. Wait, look who I'm talking to, you have definitely survived worse than this… I guess you both have." Abby trailed off, her thoughts going back to Ziva who was still in the room next door.

Tony carefully asked, "how does she look Abbs?" Knowing that he could depend on her to tell him the truth.

Surprisingly enough Abby laughed, "Tony, seriously? It's not her injuries you should be worrying about. You know how she hates being fussed over. Poor Ziva, if she stays here much longer she'll end up going crazy. That or the staff will." She said smilingly as she shook her head.

"It'll do her good to have someone fuss over her," Tony said with a nod. "Do you think they'll let me see her soon? I know that I'm on bed rest for a while, but maybe they could wheel my bed into her room?" He asked Abby hopefully.

"No need Tony," said a very rough sounding Ziva from the doorway. She was clutching at her side with her good arm, while her other arm was encased in a cast that matched Tony's.

"God Ziva, what are you doing? You have three broken ribs!" Abby gasped in horror, as she rushed forward to steady her friend.

"I did not want to be alone." Ziva answered truthfully, as she gratefully allowed Abby to lead her towards Tony's bed. Tony was all too happy to carefully shuffle himself over, making a space big enough for Ziva to lay down beside him.

Being careful to avoid Tony's gaze, Ziva said; "Even my bruises have bruises. Part of me is indignant that I should be forced to stay in the hospital and rest, but another part of me is so tired Tony."

With this she looked up at him for the first time since the accident. The pain and sadness of the days events were evident in her heavily circled eyes.

Abby sniffling slightly, cut in with; "I guess the two of you should rest for a while. I'll let the nurse know that you're both in here. I have to get back to the lab anyway."

Abby suddenly realised something; "Hey Ziva, wasn't McGee supposed to be with you now?"

"Vance arrived, Abby. I believe he, Gibbs and McGee are discussing what their next move will be."

Abby nodded distractedly at this, before leaning over Tony and Ziva and giving them each a quick kiss on the forehead, and quickly exiting the room.

Tony looked at Ziva with worry. He hadn't missed the fact that Ziva had just said they were discussing what "their" next move would be, and not "hers." She seemed to read his mind.

"Don't worry Tony. I am fine." She said laying her good arm comfortingly against his. "Don't get me wrong, I still wish to avenge my father's death, but today has put everything in perspective." Ziva murmured, looking deeply into Tony's eyes. "Other things are more important… Right?" She asked hesitantly.

"Right," Tony replied, with a surprised but extremely happy look in his eyes.

Ziva smiled back at him peacefully.

* * *

It was at that exact moment that Gibbs' entered Tony's room. He stopped for a moment taking in the scene before him, but if he was surprised to find Tony and Ziva lying in the same bed, gazing at each other adoringly, he didn't let it show.

"I just wanted to let you two know that Leon, Tim and I are leaving. We will be continuing the hunt for Bodnar. Abby is accompanying us back to NCIS as well, as she feels that she can be of more use in the lab. We all have a lot of work to do."

Looking at both of his agents steadily, his eyes softened.

"Look after each other," he said before swiftly exiting the room.

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**A/N: Yay! Tony and Ziva are re-united at last, ha-ha. Let me know what you thought of the chapter! :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Title: A Long Way Home (Chapter Six)**

**Author: LizzieInk**

**A/N: Thank you all for the encouraging feedback. I hope you all continue to enjoy my writing. :)**

**Disclaimer: still stands. Unfortunately these characters do not belong to me. **

* * *

Tony kept a protective watch over Ziva as she slept. Unable to fall asleep himself, he had taken this rare opportunity to gaze at her, without needing to worry that she might catch him looking. He had already been told about her broken arm and ribs, so neither of these injuries had shocked him, however he was surprised by the multiple cuts and scratches to Ziva's face and arms. No one had mentioned those to him before. He could also see bruises starting to form on Ziva's right cheek. She was obviously a little more worse for wear than he had been told.

Tony sighed to himself quietly.

_We will both take a while to heal from this, _Tony thought.

It was a shame that their trip to Berlin had ended with such misfortune. Ziva had surprised Tony with how open she was during their trip. For the first time since her father's death, Ziva had begun to slowly open up to him again. She had told him memories about her father, and more importantly, had lamented to Tony about the loss of her childhood. Ziva had been upset that the events in her past may have changed her, and somehow made her a worse version of herself. Tony knew without her saying so that she had never allowed herself to voice such worries to anyone before. He hadn't had to dig far for his response to this. She was perfect just the way she was. Her history and the strength she had shown in overcoming the problems of her past, were what made her so uniquely Ziva.

In Berlin, Ziva had told Tony that she wasn't 'a type,' and looking at her now he was beginning to realize what she had meant. Ziva was unpredictable and smart, and just when Tony thought he had her figured out, she would always end up surprising him somehow. He got to see a side of her that few others were allowed to see, and that was something he truly cherished.

Watching her now, Tony couldn't help but notice how much Ziva had evolved since her first day of working at NCIS. However Tony's thoughts didn't get much further than this before Ziva twitched violently in her sleep, causing an obvious jolt of pain to shoot through her body. Tony winced sympathetically, as a sharp hiss of breath escaped Ziva's lips.

Keeping her eyes squeezed shut, Ziva tried to remain as still as possible while she waited impatiently for the pain to fade.

When she opened her eyes, she found Tony looking at her in sympathy.

"Are you okay?" He asked her softly, taking her hand comfortingly in his.

"I am fine. Although how they expect us to sleep properly on these terrible beds is beyond me," replied Ziva with a small grimace.

"Well, I'm pretty sure that both of us being squashed onto the same little bed isn't going to help us get any sleep." Tony said with an apologetic yet teasing grin.

"Do you want me to move?" Ziva asked.

"I didn't say thaaat…" Tony murmured. Ziva smiled and rolled her eyes at him, before they both sank back into a comfortable silence.

After thinking carefully for a minute, Ziva quietly began to speak again; "…Tony?" She asked hesitantly.

"Mmmm?" He mumbled, his eyes closing.

"I never did get to thank you… before the accident."

Tony opened his eyes and shifted his head carefully, so that his eyes were level with Ziva's.

"Thank me for what?" He asked.

"I know that I am not the easiest person in the world to work with sometimes, and I know that I do not say this to you enough, Tony. I want to thank you for being there for me through everything that has happened these past few months." The honesty in Ziva's eyes was plain to see, as she continued "it truly has meant everything to me Tony."

Tony gave her a long searching look, before replying; "And I meant what I said Ziva… Aht lo leh-vahd…ever. You know that right?"

"I think I am starting to," replied Ziva honestly.

* * *

…**(A little while later…)**…...

Ducky opened the door to Tony's hospital room and, as quietly as he could, proceeded to wheel another bed slowly towards the one upon which Tony and Ziva were resting, so that the mattresses were touching.

Tony was fast asleep, but Ziva was still awake and looked at Ducky wearily.

"I have some good news my dear," Ducky said to Ziva with a smile, "I have convinced the nurse to discharge you in the morning. You will both be more comfortable at home I think, and I made sure to assure the nurse that I would keep an eye on you both."

Ziva smiled gratefully "Thank you Ducky. I have never liked hospitals," she said with a slight shiver.

"I don't believe anyone does," replied Ducky truthfully. "Now why don't you slide along on to this bed. That way both of you will have enough room to rest comfortably until morning." Ducky patted the end of the bed with his hand.

Ziva gritted her teeth and quickly lifted herself from one bed to the other.

Ducky pulled the blankets up to Ziva's chin and continued to tuck her in carefully.

"Goodnight Ziva," said Ducky with a tender smile, as he slowly left the room.

Ziva glanced across at Tony, glad that Ducky had allowed her to stay with him. She had been touched that Dr. Mallard had made the effort to bring an extra bed in here for her, when even her nurse had not bothered. Although she missed Tony's warmth, Ziva was glad to have a bed to herself. Smiling over at Tony who was now snoring quietly in his sleep, Ziva closed her eyes and finally allowed herself to give in to the exhaustion she felt from the days harrowing adventures.

* * *

**A/N: I thought the story needed a little Tiva fluffiness. I hope you enjoyed it. ;)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Title: A Long Way Home (Chapter Seven)**

**Author: LizzieInk**

**A/N: Thanks for your continued support. Here's the next chapter for you all to enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: These characters belong to the creators of NCIS.**

* * *

**Meanwhile at NCIS…**

McGee had been sat at his desk back at NCIS for just over half an hour now. It was his job to go back through all the particulars of the case, and try and piece together some helpful Intel that the team may have previously overlooked. He was basically scrounging through crumbs trying to piece together anything he could on where Bodnar might be planning to go next. It was slow going, and after almost 40 minutes he was still in almost the exact same place he was when he had started. Bodnar was smart and he had been trained well. McGee shook his head in frustration, hitting the keys of his computer hard. No matter how fast they worked, Bodnar always managed to stay one step ahead of them.

_We need Ziva for this, _McGee thought to himself. _She's the only person with any real knowledge of the way Bodnar thinks. _

Ziva and Bodnar had known each other since they were children, and had been friends. Ziva's father had trained them both and treated Bodnar almost like a son. Only recently, as an adult, had Bodnar gone off the reservation by ordering a hit on Ziva's father, so that he could take-over his position as the Director of the Mossad. Bodnar had hated the direction that Ziva's father was leading the Mossad towards, so he had put a stop to it.

McGee shook his head in frustration. There was no way he could ask Ziva for help without alerting her to the particulars of the case. McGee wanted to keep her as out of the loop as possible, at least for the time being. She needed time to heal, and so did Tony. McGee knew that when Ziva inevitably demanded to be put back on the team to find Bodnar, that Tony would be mere seconds behind her. No, McGee would work alone, for now at least. That way his friends could get at least a little rest before whatever might happen next.

* * *

Gibbs and Vance had been closeted away in Vance's office ever since they had got back from visiting Tony and Ziva at the hospital. Gibbs was sat on the edge of Vance's desk, watching silently as Leon paced impatiently back and forth within the confines of his office. Gibbs knew what dark thoughts were clouding his friend's mind. He knew firsthand what it felt like to lose the people he loved most in this world.

Vance's wife had died as a direct result of the same hit that Bodnar had taken out on Director David. So not only did Bodnar now have one extremely pissed off ex-Mossad agent after him, but he had also made himself a very dangerous enemy in Director Vance. Vance was adamant that Bodnar would get what was coming to him, if only he could be located.

However, for the present Vance and Gibbs couldn't do anything but wait. Abby was in the process of examining the vehicles from the scene of Tony and Ziva's crash. Abby's primary concern was examining the attackers car for prints and DNA.

Gibbs and Vance were patiently waiting for her to call and update them.

Gibbs knew logically that they had nothing else to go on. He had ordered McGee to go through what they knew, merely to keep McGee from worrying too much about his friends. But Gibbs knew that if they were going to catch Bodnar, they would need nothing less than a miracle. Bodnar's brother was currently locked in interrogation with two agents standing guard. He was refusing to speak for now, but Gibbs hoped that depending on what Abby found in the attackers car, maybe…just maybe, they could get him to talk.

In the meantime, all Gibbs could do was provide his old friend Leon some silent support, as his chaotic thoughts continued to assault his mind.

* * *

Back at his desk McGee was beginning to realize that his current search was futile. After all if there was anything in their old evidence indicating what Bodnar was planning, Ziva would have been sure to see it, at the time that it was first discovered.

McGee stood up, and abandoning his computer, headed straight for the elevator.

_I'll be of more help if I give Abby a hand with the evidence. _McGee reasoned to himself, as he pushed the button that would take him down to the evidence garage.

* * *

**Down in the evidence garage…**

Abby was waiting impatiently for the elevator.

When the doors finally opened to allow her access, she was surprised to see McGee stood facing her. Abby had finished collecting the samples she needed from the car, and was impatient to return to her lab so that she could get down to what she did best.

"McGee," Abby squealed in delight, rushing forwards into the elevator to give him a hug. "What's happening upstairs? Any news?" Abby looked at McGee with hopeful eyes.

"Sorry Abbs. I'm afraid it's up to you for the moment. I thought that you could use some company while you work your magic though?" He asked kindly.

"Thanks Timmy." Abby replied, linking her arm comfortingly through McGee's, as the elevator doors closed behind them.

**To be continued…**

* * *

**A/N: The case is starting to get underway now, so as well as fluffy Tiva scenes, and awesome 'family' moments, there will also be more case related stuff. Please remember to leave feedback so I can see what your thoughts are on the story so far! :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Title: ****A** Long Way Home (Chapter Eight)

**Author: LizzieInk**

**A/N: ****My previous chapter allowed me to hit two milestones as a fan-fiction writer. This story now has over 50 reviews and 100 followers. Thank you all so much! This is my first full length fan-fiction, so it means the world to me that you enjoy it.**

**Disclaimer: Do I really need to say it? ;)**

* * *

Stepping off of the elevator and entering Abby's lab, McGee sat down on Abby's desk chair, as Abby herself proceeded to spread out the samples she had collected upon the stainless steel table in front of her.

Abby was an old-hand at analysing blood samples and fingerprints. Hell, it was such a routine part of her job that she could probably do it in her sleep.

Abby quickly and capably transferred the blood sample to a slide, while adding the correct gel. Her hands moved with an almost impossible speed and level of dexterity, as McGee watched quietly from a far. Abby placed the slide under her microscope, and using advanced computer software, she pulled up the image from the scope on to her computer screen. Her fingers flew over the keyboard as she instructed the computer to search for a DNA match. She then proceeded to work on the fingerprints.

However, Abby had only been away from the computer for a minute before it started to beep. As Abby headed back towards the screen, a file popped open.

"Bodnar." McGee muttered as he pulled his phone from his pocket.

"Wait, McGee," said Abby, while twitching nervously. "We should wait to call Gibb's until we've run the fingerprints from the car. I got two sets. One from the steering wheel and another from the passenger side door handle. Considering we already assumed that Bodnar was behind this, at this point the only helpful Intel here that could lead us to him is by finding out the identity of the second person."

McGee nodded grudgingly. "You're right Abbs. We should wait until all the evidence is in. Its just that this case… with Tony and Ziva…"

"I know McGee." Replied Abby with a sad smile. "I feel the same, but that's why we have to be extra thorough. We can't assume anything."

Abby's calm logic in the face of their terrible situation, had a soothing effect on McGee. Now that Abby was once again back at her computer running both fingerprint samples through IAFIS, McGee took a deep breath and went to stand beside her.

"Okay, the sample from the passenger door belongs to Bodnar. The prints from the steering wheel are still running. I guess now all we can do is wait…"

* * *

Palmer finished working on the file in front of him, and snapped it shut with relish.

Due to Ducky opting to stay with Tony and Ziva at the hospital, that meant that Palmer was in charge of the Morgue until his return. Unfortunately, even though he was not currently needed for the Bodnar case, Palmer had been organizing transportation for a body from another case, and hadn't yet been able to get away from the Morgue.

Palmer stood up to put away the file, and stretched. It was very late and normally he would have left NCIS an hour before, but he just couldn't bring himself to go home tonight. When he had first heard about the car crash, Palmer had been out of his mind with worry for his friends, and had been unable to get much work done until Ducky had eventually called to let him know that everything was okay.

Now after finally having caught up on the days work, Jimmy decided to drop by Abby's lab. Visiting hours at the hospital were long since over, so he would have to wait until tomorrow to see Tony and Ziva. Palmer had barely seen anyone all day and his nerves were beginning to get the better of him. Grabbing his coat and heading for the exit, Palmer stopped for a moment to check that everything was in order before switching off the lights.

* * *

As Palmer walked into Abby's lab, McGee and Abby seemed to be in the middle of a complex debate. They were both sat on desk chairs in front of Abby's computer now. Abby was spinning around slowly in her chair, with a caf-pow in one hand. Both herself and McGee seemed to be deep in thought.

"Hey guys," said Palmer awkwardly, "what's going on?"

"Hey Jimmy," Abby replied, "McGee and I are trying to decide what we should do about Tony and Ziva."

"What do you mean?" Palmer asked, seemingly nonplussed.

"It's like this," McGee elaborated "we know that as soon as they are released from the hospital tomorrow, that Ziva will start looking for Bodnar. I mean, it's almost a given at this point. Abby and I were just trying to think of a way to keep an eye on both Tony and Ziva. That way if they come up with any dangerous plans, we would be able to either put a stop to it, or else we could go with them to provide back-up."

Palmer removed his glasses and cleaned them absentmindedly, as he took a moment to think.

"Hmm… well, why not invite them both to stay with you until they're better?" He eventually suggested.

Abby laughed excitedly, "Palmer you're a genius. That's a great idea."

Palmer smiled, feeling rather pleased with himself.

"Uuuuhhh..." grumbled McGee "can you imagine how annoying it would be to take care of Tony?"

Palmer laughed at the thought, while Abby was quick to cut in.

"They could stay with me though, McGee. I just redecorated my spare bedroom, and it looks awesome!" Abby said excitedly. "One of them could sleep in my room and the other could take the spare room. I totally wouldn't mind sleeping on the couch."

"I guess that could work…" McGee replied.

"It'll definitely work. It's a pretty small apartment, so there's no way that they could make secret plans without me knowing. And you and Palmer could drop by sometimes if I get stuck at work too long. It's perfect!" Abby replied, with a huge grin on her face. McGee and Palmer nodded in support.

Just then, Abby's computer began to beep loudly, indicating that it had found a match for Bodnar's accomplice. McGee quickly made note of the name before hugging Abby and heading to the elevator.

Giving Abby an awkward wave, Palmer was quick to join McGee before the elevator doors dinged closed behind them.

Palmer looked over at McGee curiously, "I wonder what Abby's version of decorating looks like?" He asked.

McGee chuckled to himself, as he imagined the dark and eerie room that either Tony or Ziva would be relegated to. Shaking his head with amusement, McGee began to prepare himself to tell Gibbs and Vance what Abby had found out.

* * *

**A/N: I apologize in regards to any possible mistakes in this chapter. I am not a scientist! However I did do a little research for the Abby's Lab scenes so hopefully this chapter reads okay? Feel free to send me any corrections. :)**

**Are you guys excited to see what Abby's apartment is going to be like? **


	9. Chapter 9

**Title: A Long Way Home (Chapter Nine)**

**Author: LizzieInk**

**A/N: The events of this chapter occur the morning after the previous chapters events. I felt as if we needed a little more Tiva. After all there is no such thing as too much Tiva right? Ha-ha. Enjoy! ;)**

**Disclaimer: These characters are the property of CBS.**

* * *

Ziva woke with a start. She had been awoken multiple times during the night by terrifying dreams. Now that she was truly awake and had time to dwell on them properly, it was easy to see that her dreams were merely mirroring reality. Ziva felt little comfort in waking these days. She dreamt often of holding her father's lifeless body in her arms, while listening to Bodnar's cold chilling laugh. Bodnar was only ever in the periphery of her dreams, taunting her. Just out of reach.

Waking held no solace for Ziva any more. It only served to remind her time after time, of all that she had lost during her life.

Even though the hospital room was fairly warm, Ziva couldn't help but shiver as she replayed the nightmares from the previous night in her minds eye.

"Ziva?" Tony murmured quietly.

It made her jump. She had forgotten he was there for a moment.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Bad dreams." Ziva said. She didn't need to say more than that. Of course Tony knew of the nightmares that chased Ziva during the night. He had witnessed the very first of them, the night after her father had been murdered, when she had stayed at Tony's apartment.

Tony looked at Ziva with sadness and sympathy in his eyes, but he didn't pursue the point further. He knew without Ziva having to tell him, that now was not the right time to ask her about her nightmares. Instead he absentmindedly tried to move, before the searing pain in his shoulder served as a reminder of the previous days harrowing events. The pain made Tony growl roughly under his breath.

"Uuugh… I feel as if I've been hit by a tank." Tony grumbled.

"Just be thankful you weren't and that it was only another car." Ziva advised as she slowly flexed her good arm, assessing the damage that had been done to her. She had small cuts all along her right arm from the window that had shattered during the crash, but they were only superficial wounds. Other than feeling pretty bruised, Ziva decided that her right arm was okay. Her left arm was the one that had faired the worst, as it was in a cast from elbow to wrist. All she could do was flex her elbow and wiggle her fingers uselessly.

Tony watched Ziva curiously as she put her body carefully to the test.

"So what's the verdict?" He asked, "Do you feel anywhere near as badly bruised as I do?"

"I am fine. Other than my left arm and my ribs, I seem to have faired well enough." Ziva answered.

Tony raised an eyebrow at her, the disbelief on his face was clear to see.

"Okay, I admit I have felt better." Ziva conceded.

Tony nodded. He knew that was as much of a confession as he would get out of Ziva. She was never one to show weakness if she could help it.

Tony looked across at Ziva, holding her gaze with his own, but whatever he was about to say was lost, as their Doctor entered the room quietly.

Doctor Price assessed Agent Dinozzo first, before moving on to assess Agent David. They appeared to be doing well considering everything that had happened the day before. Both Tony and Ziva remained silent until Doctor Price spoke to them directly.

"So do you both feel ready to be sent home today?" He asked.

"I feel fine," was Ziva's expected reply.

While Dinozzo replied with a sarcastic; "never better."

Gibbs walked into the room just in time to hear his agent's answers, and smiled to himself. He expected nothing more from either of them after all of their years working together. Dinozzo's go to response in situations of pain or discomfort was always sarcasm, while Ziva was the master of deflection, glossing over her own issues to instead focus on someone else's.

"Well, if you two think you are ready to go, you should get dressed. I have brought you each a change of clothes. You'll be staying at Abby's place until we find Bodnar." Gibb's said, dropping a bag on the end of each of their beds.

"I'm sorry boss, but did you just say we are staying at Abby's?" Dinozzo asked, the confusion clear on his face.

"Gibbs, that is not necessary. I doubt we are in any more danger than we usually are. The crash just provided an opportunity for Bodnar to retrieve his diamonds." Ziva argued.

"I don't care. Whether his intentions were to kill you or not, neither of you can deny that he came extremely close yesterday." Gibbs replied in a stern authoritative voice. "Now Abbs has been kind enough to offer, so I think you should both stay with her. That way neither of you will be alone until we find Bodnar. You can both look after Abby too. I don't think she has slept since before the crash, the girl is literally main-lining caffeine." Gibbs shook his head disapprovingly.

Gibbs took a moment to look over both of his agents.

"Get dressed." He repeated quietly, his gaze softening, before he swiftly exited the room.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry, I know this chapter is a little shorter than usual, but I really wanted to add in another Tony/Ziva scene. After all this is a Tiva-centric fic. I didn't want you to have to go without them for too long. Hell, I didn't want to go without them either, lol. I hope you enjoyed it! ;)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Title: A Long Way Home (Chapter Ten)**

**Author: LizzieInk**

**A/N: ****I hope you like the following chapter. Much love x**

**Disclaimer: you get where I am going with this...**

* * *

Gibbs carefully pulled into a parking space outside of Abby's apartment building. Although the distance from the hospital to Abby's apartment was fairly short, the journey had seemed endless. Gibbs had purposefully driven slowly to make the ride as smooth as possible for both of his injured agents. Tony and Ziva were both sat in companionable silence in the back seat.

As the car came to a stop, Gibbs hopped out and opened Ziva's car door. Ziva being more accustomed to pain than most held her breath and climbed out of the car quickly. Gibbs steadied Ziva before leading her towards the door of the apartment building. Tony managed well enough by himself, although he was still having a little trouble with his crutches. He followed at a slower pace, taking his time so that he wouldn't stumble.

Gibbs looked round and smiled at the look of deep concentration on his senior field agents face.

"You okay there Dinozzo?" He asked.

"Good, boss. Although this is a little harder than it looks…" Tony replied while still concentrating on his feet. "Unggfpph" he grunted as he practically collided with Gibbs.

"Maybe you should focus a little more on where you're going as opposed to where you put your feet, you think Dinozzo?" Gibbs said with a sigh.

"Great idea boss" Tony replied with a grimace.

"Ouch! Don't make me laugh," Ziva murmured and she clutched at her ribs, as she giggled quietly at the expression on Tony's face.

Gibbs helped both his agents patiently into the elevator and up to the third floor, where Abby lived. "Now Abby is obviously still working on this case, so she will be working while you stay here, but she has this morning off…"

"You gave her the morning off to get us settled? That was nice of you boss" Tony cut in with a quizzical look at Gibbs.

"Abby was up all night working on evidence Dinozzo, so she needs the morning off to rest, not to wait on you hand and foot," Gibbs looked at Tony pointedly.

"Ouch boss! I'm wounded you'd think that I would even consider taking advantage of Abbs like that," Dinozzo said with a feigned wounded from the slightly disappointed look on his face it was clear that Tony had been hoping for exactly that.

As Gibbs, Tony and Ziva finally arrived at the door of Abby's apartment, it swung open before they even had a chance to knock.

"Tony, Ziva!" Abby squealed with obvious excitement. "Come in."

Tony looked at Abby in amusement. It was easy to see why she had been given the morning off. Abby had obviously over-dosed on caf-pow during her long nights work in her lab! She was a mess of nervous energy and excitement and she couldn't keep still. Just watching Abby when she was like this, was enough to give anyone a sympathy headache. Abby was wearing a pair of flannel pyjamas that were decorated with lots of tiny smiling skulls.

Grinning happily Abby jumped towards Tony and gave him a big hug. Tony hugged her back with a laugh before almost losing his balance. Gibbs managed to grab Tony before he fell on top of Abby in a mass of tangled limbs.

"Careful Abbs" he said quietly.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry Tony, I was just so excited to see you that I forgot for a moment that you were injured." Abby apologised. Turning to Ziva, Abby took her hand and squeezed it gently "how are you feeling?" Abby asked Ziva sympathetically.

"If you do not mind, I would like to lie down for a while I think. I did not get much sleep last night, and my ribs hurt less when I am resting." Ziva said quietly, looking at the floor. Her cheeks were lightly tinged with pink.

Tony looked at Ziva, with worry evident on his face, as Abby took Ziva's hand and led her to the spare room. Tony turned to Gibbs.

"She'll be okay Dinozzo," Gibbs said knowingly, "just make sure she rests as much as possible. When we have any major news about the case I will call you, but in the meantime you are both to relax. I do not want you both worrying about the case until I call. Do you understand?"

"Yes boss," Dinozzo replied.

"I'm going to head off while Abby is getting Ziva settled. We have no major need for Abby to come back in today. So if she falls asleep at some point just leave her okay?" Gibbs patted Dinozzo on the back, before slipping quietly out the door.

* * *

Ziva had been asleep in Abby's spare room, for a little over an hour now. Tony was leaning against the door frame. Although he was glad to be out of the hospital, he missed sharing a room with his partner. He was worried about Ziva. She rarely slept well lately. For what must be the millionth time Tony found himself wishing that they would find Bodnar soon. He hoped that Ziva's nightmares would recede a little once the immediate threat was over with. But realistically Tony knew that catching Bodnar wouldn't magically make Ziva okay again. She would always carry the weight of her father's death with her now, and nothing they could do would ever fix that. But perhaps by just being there for her, he could make Ziva feel safer. Letting her know that she isn't as alone as she thinks.

Ziva shifted slightly in her sleep and let out a light snore. Smiling to himself, Tony headed back towards the lounge where he had left Abby five minutes before.

Abby was no where to be seen. Tony slowly made his way towards Abby's (aka his) room, careful not to trip on his crutches. Sure enough she was putting extra blankets on the bed and fluffing up pillows, making the room look comfy.

"Hey Tony," Abby greeted him cheerfully, "I just thought I'd get you some extra blankets and pillows and stuff."

"Thanks Abbs, this looks great!" replied Tony, as his gaze took in the view before him. Abby's room was full of curious objects. The bedside table held a voodoo doll and a pack of tarot cards along with a stack of forensic science journals. The bed spread was black and red, and there was a large stuffed hippo toy that looked like it acted as a second pillow. Also now that he thought about it the base of Abby's bed looked creepily like a coffin… Tony shuddered slightly, before turning back to Abby with a smile.

"Thanks for letting us stay with you Abbs. Sorry to stick you with the couch."

"Oh that's okay Tony, it pulls out." Abby assured him. Abby gave Tony a long searching look before nodding her head and giving him a careful hug. "I am going to go take a nap before I head back to work. You can play with my voodoo doll if you want." Abby said slyly as she left the room, laughing on her way out at the slightly appalled and worried look that had appeared on Tony's face.

* * *

**A/N: Hope you liked this chapter. Updates will now be made to this story every night. As usual if you want to comment about anything you would like to see in the story go ahead. Your comments keep me inspired. :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Title: A Long Way Home (Chapter Eleven)**

**Author: LizzieInk**

**A/N: Here is a new chapter for you all to enjoy. I hope you like it.**

**Disclaimer: still stands, these characters are not mine.**

* * *

Tony opened Abby's fridge. Abby's apartment was strangely silent except for the odd snore coming from the couch. Abby had come down hard after her caf-pow high, and had been sleeping deeply for a couple of hours now. Tony on the other hand felt a little put-out and couldn't decide what to do with himself. His lack of motivation had resulted in his raiding Abby's fridge. Tony pushed aside Abby's stash of ever-present caf-pow energy drinks, and snagged himself an iced cupcake from the back of the fridge. It wasn't the healthiest snack in the world, but it sure did look good.

Just as Tony was about to take a bite, he heard movement coming from Ziva's room. More out of boredom than anything else Tony found himself drawn towards the commotion. Ziva was leaning against the dresser with her eyes closed.

"Woah, my ninja," Tony murmured as he stood behind Ziva, and placed a supportive hand at the small of her back. "I seem to remember you were put on bed rest Ziva, you aren't going to heal if you keep moving around all the time. Broken ribs are serious…"

"They are fractured, Tony. The way you say it makes me sound helpless" Ziva replied angrily, "Gaah! I hate being injured." She said opening her eyes and staring at Tony unhappily in the mirror that stood before them. Tony leant his crutches against the wall and took Ziva's hand in his own.

"I know you do," said Tony with a rueful grin, "but perhaps you can forget your Mossad training, and allow yourself to be taken care of a little." He asked with a question in his eyes.

Ziva leant back into Tony wearily. Allowing herself to relax her already strained muscles. She had been with NCIS for so long now, and yet she still found it hard to let her walls down sometimes. Normally with Tony she found it easier, but with everything that had happened to them lately Ziva had still been finding it hard to let him in.

"Did you manage to get much sleep?" Tony asked.

"A little," Ziva said with a smile. "I will admit that when I saw the dancing skeletons on Abby's blankets I did not expect to fall asleep so easily as I did."

Tony laughed, while eyeing the bedding appreciatively. "Yeah, it is a little creepy. You should see where I have to sleep! I'm pretty sure that bed used to be a coffin." Ziva tried not to laugh, holding tightly to her side.

"Sorry," Tony apologized, with worry lacing his voice.

"There is no need to apologize Tony" Ziva said. "I like it when you make me laugh," she added, almost shyly.

Tony raised his eyebrows in surprise, and stroked the back of her hand hesitantly. "Well, I like making you laugh." Tony's voice was quiet, causing Ziva to turn her face towards his.

A loud snore from the lounge, brought Ziva to her senses.

Looking into Tony's eyes, she realized how closely they were standing. Her back resting comfortably against his strong chest. She let out a quiet sigh, and looked down at her hand which was clasped protectively within Tony's. Tony intertwined his fingers more closely with hers.

Tony sought out Ziva's gaze with his own, while slowly leaning forward, and when she didn't pull away he placed a feather light kiss on the corner of Ziva's mouth, before stepping back and reaching for his crutches.

"I'll go and make us some lunch" said Tony with a smile, before he slowly manoeuvred his way back into the hallway on his crutches.

Ziva remained at the dresser, her eyes wide with surprise. Tony had kissed her. She placed her fingers against her lips hesitantly. The shock clear in her expression.

Meanwhile back in the kitchen Tony smiled to himself as he started preparing lunch.

* * *

**Meanwhile back at NCIS…**

Gibbs sat in the interrogation room.

Yaniv had been stonily silent ever since he had been brought back to NCIS for questioning. Gibbs was having trouble getting him to talk, and the more time Gibbs spent watching Yaniv Bodnar, the more he began to worry.

Gibbs couldn't help feeling as if the only person that might be able to get Yaniv Bodnar to talk might be Ziva. He knew in his gut that this guy would only open up to someone he knew. Yaniv's Mossad training held strong, and Gibbs had been consistently stone-walled for the past hour. The most this guy had given him was a sneer and a condescending look before he had picked a spot on the table and had proceeded to stare at it in silence.

Gibbs had questioned him, offered him understanding, and finally had yelled accusations, before he had fallen silent too, doing nothing more than taking stock of the man in front of him.

Yes, he thought to himself resignedly, this would have to be a job for Ziva.

* * *

Tony and Ziva were sat at the breakfast bar in Abby's kitchen. Ziva was balanced precariously on the edge of her stool trying not to put any unnecessary strain on her ribs, while Tony was sat next to her facing sideways with his injured leg balanced on the bottom of Ziva's stool.

Despite their wounds, they had both laughed at how ridiculous the other had looked, before they had both proceeded to dig into their lunch. Tony had made some sandwiches and had managed to put together a tasty fruit salad for them to share. Abby was still sleeping soundly on the pull-out couch and neither of them had the heart to wake her.

Tony made a mental note to offer Abby some money to go towards groceries the next time she went out, so that he and Ziva wouldn't have to keep eating all of her food.

Ziva was looking at Tony with her head tipped slightly to the side, as if she was trying to make her mind up. "Tony…" she began hesitantly.

Tony's head snapped up, the tone in her voice catching him off guard.

"About before…" she continued, "should we talk about this?"

Tony leant against the breakfast bar, and thought for a moment. Just as he was about to reply, his phone let out a shrill ring. Cursing under his breathe Tony fished it out of his jacket pocket, and shot an apologetic look at Ziva before he answered the phone.

"Hey boss. A little soon to be calling isn't it? Surely you haven't found Bodnar already?"

As Tony said this, Ziva leant forwards hopefully, but the growing look of disapproval on Tony's face told her all she needed to know. They hadn't found Bodnar. But then what would make Tony so angry? Ziva thought to herself curiously. She could hear the murmur of Gibbs' voice through the phone, but she could not make out what was being said.

Gibbs seemed to finish speaking because Tony replied slightly harshly; "That's not a good idea boss." But Ziva could see that whatever Tony disagreed with, was being explained in detail by Gibbs. Ziva looked at Tony's eyes curiously trying to read his mood. He seemed angry and annoyed, but by the time Gibbs must have finished speaking, Tony let out a sigh. "Fine, I'll tell her" said Tony before he hung up. He turned apprehensively towards Ziva.

"What is it?" Ziva prompted, their previous conversation momentarily forgotten.

"Last night they found out that the prints from the car that hit us belong to two people: Bodnar and a man called Hadar. It seems that Hadar was the driver while Bodnar was in the passenger seat. Bodnar appears to have been injured. McGee is trying to track Bodnar by trying to find his driver."

Ziva nodded. "But that does not explain why you are angry… what did Gibbs want? I doubt he would have called unless he had to. Am I right?" Ziva asked tentatively.

Dinozzo nodded. "He wants you to interrogate Yaniv," replied Tony. "He told me to say that you don't have to if you don't feel up to it, but as we both know you will say yes I am going to say something else instead… Let me come with you."

Tony watched Ziva. It was as if she was reverting back to her usual defiant stance right before his very eyes. Duty always came first he thought to himself with an unhappy sigh. However when she looked at him her gaze softened, and then that one glance allowed Tony to hope.

"Come on partner. It seems we have work to do after all." Ziva said softly.

* * *

**A/N: I hope that you like this chapter, I had a little trouble writing it. There was a lot I wanted to put in it which didn't read well when I put it down on paper. So this is my first tentative step towards building a more solid relationship between Tony and Ziva. They still have a looong way to go huh? What do you think? ;)**


	12. Chapter 12

**Title: A Long Way Home (Chapter Twelve)**

**Author: LizzieInk**

**A/N: Thank you all for the encouraging feedback. ****I just want to warn you that I am extremely scatter brained right now, as I just found out that I have been offered a job at a Ski Lodge for the winter season. Hopefully I won't make any major mistakes, but if I do please forgive me. I feel like Abby after a million caf-pows i.e bouncing all over the place and talking a mile a minute. Ha-ha. Anyway thanks for all your follows, favourites and kind words. You are all amazing.**

**Disclaimer: still stands…I hope you like this chapter!**

* * *

Gibbs stood outside the interrogation room looking at the two agents that stood before him. He should have known that Tony would have insisted on joining them. He was as loyal as they came, and always looked out for everyone, Ziva especially, although she didn't necessarily always need it.

"Okay," said Gibbs, drawing in a large breath. "Yaniv has refused to cooperate with me. He merely refuses to speak, and rarely looks me in the eye. I am sorry I had to bring you in on this so soon Ziva." Gibbs gave her an apologetic look as he continued, "At this point I think that you're our best shot. He knows you. We have the Director of Mossad breathing down our necks, so if we want to get any information out of him we need to do it now."

Ziva lifted her chin, and a determined glint flashed in her eyes. "He will speak to me." She said simply.

Gibbs didn't even question it. Nodding once at Ziva, he turned to Tony. "I don't know if you should be in there. He might be more likely to speak if he and Ziva are alone."

Tony's shoulders lowered a little in defeat, but he too nodded his head. "Got it boss," and turning to face Ziva he said "I will be in observation if you need me."

* * *

Tony opened the door to the observation room, only to find someone was already in it.

"McGee!" Said Tony in surprise. "I thought you were trying to track down the hit and run driver?"

"Yeah, I am Tony. I just wanted to check in and see how the two of you are. Plus I was a little curious about Yaniv. You think he'll talk?"

"If anyone can make him talk it's her," Tony replied, nodding his head towards Ziva through the glass, as she entered the interrogation room next door.

* * *

Yaniv looked up as Ziva entered the room. His expression did not change, but his eyes trailed her as she slowly crossed the room and sat down carefully in the chair opposite him.

"I was sorry to hear that you are injured," he said quietly, his expression unreadable.

Ziva sat quietly for a moment, as if contemplating the truth in this. "I believe that you do not feel comfortable with my having been hurt. We have known each other for a long time Yaniv. I know what it is to feel as if you must protect your family at all costs, believe me I do, but if this goes on I may be injured a lot worse than this."

Ziva looked at him imploringly, her head tilted slightly to one side. "My father treated Ilan like his own son, and yet Ilan showed my father no mercy. He also came very close to killing myself and my partner. He has gone completely off grid on this Yaniv."

Yaniv Bodnar still sat as before, his eyes fixed on Ziva's.

Ziva paused a moment before continuing, her words full of gravity, "You know what happened with my brother Ari. I would have given my life for him. I continued to protect him when no one else did, even though I was beginning to see the truth at last. I tried my hardest to protect him as much as I could." Ziva said, blinking away the tears in her eyes, "But their comes a time when we ourselves must make a choice, Yaniv. When I realised that my brother Ari was beyond saving from himself, I chose to save others instead. It was the hardest choice I have ever had to make in my life, but I would do it again in a heartbeat."

Ziva wiped the tears away from her eyes, and looked down at the table in front of her. She gave Yaniv a moment to think about what she had said before she looked up again.

"The Mossad has a new Director now." She said slowly. "Ilan's plans to take over have failed, and he will have not only the Mossad, but also Homeland Security, the FBI and NCIS looking for him for the rest of his life. He will never be free no matter which way this goes. Nothing you say can buy his freedom, Yaniv. But it can buy freedom for others. If you tell me where he is, then I can stop him before he rips even more families apart."

Yaniv unclasped his hands and looked at Ziva disbelievingly. "And what will happen to me then Ziva? If I speak, I will become a traitor to my own blood. He would never let me walk away from this if I did so. He would kill me Ziva. Is that what you would have happen?"

Ziva stood angrily, "Ilan has the power to destroy many more lives than just yours Yaniv. If you cooperate with us then we can hold you here, and keep you under our protection. We would not need to hand you back to the Mossad. It is if you do not speak, that worries me. Trust me it is better that you do."

And with that Ziva turned on her heel and left Yaniv in the interrogation room alone. She would give him some time to think things through before she continued, Ziva thought to herself.

Ziva opened the door to Observation to find Tony alone, waiting patiently near the glass, a proud smile on his face. He extended a hand to her, and she took it hesitantly, as she stepped towards him.

"You did good, Ziva" Tony said comfortingly.

"Our situations are somewhat similar, I know." She said with a sad smile. "I hope that he tells us what he knows."

"He may not know anything at all…" Tony warned carefully.

"Oh, I think he knows something," Ziva said, narrowing her eyes, as she watched Yaniv curiously through the observation glass.

* * *

After what felt like hours Yaniv walked across to the door of the interrogation room and tapped on it lightly, while looking towards the glass behind which Tony and Ziva where concealed.

Ziva squeezed Tony's hand before heading back into the interrogation room to speak with Yaniv Bodnar.

It only took one look for Ziva to know what he was about to say.

"I am ready to talk."

* * *

**A/N: Thoughts? ;)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Title: A Long Way Home (Chapter Thirteen)**

**Author: LizzieInk**

**A/N: Yay, time for the next chapter! Enjoy! :)**

**Disclaimer: still stands.**

* * *

Ziva sat in the seat opposite Yaniv, as the suspect himself sighed deeply. Yaniv had a pained expression on his face, but he also looked resigned to what he was about to do. He would do the right thing, as hard as that may prove to be. Leaning back in his chair and placing his hands in an upwards gesture on the table before him, as a sign of honesty and good faith, he looked at Ziva imploringly.

"I cannot tell you exactly where my brother is, for I do not know. But I may have some information that can help you find him."

Ziva nodded her encouragement at him, as he continued to speak. "Ilan has many 'friends,' he always had multiple plans in place in case he needed to escape for a while, people that he could go to that would help him disappear. He gave me no indication as to what his plans are now when we last spoke, but if I give you the names that I can remember, will you promise me that I will be offered protection?"

"I promise." Ziva said simply with an understanding smile.

"My brother was extremely selective as to who he allowed into his inner circle. As far as I know their were three people in particular that he counted as solid allies."

"Any of them go by the name of Hadar?" Asked Ziva quietly.

"No… but if I remember correctly a man named Hadar used to be the right hand man of David Renner. He was one of Ilan's go to guys for anything suspect. He could get almost anything for his clients no questions asked and has a certain skill for disappearing into thin air when he needs to."

"Is there any way you know of to contact this man?" Queried Ziva.

"No. I had no dealings with him, I merely know of him. Other than giving you his name I am afraid I can't be of much more help to you."

"You have been extremely helpful, Yaniv. I know how hard it is to betray the ones you love, no matter the reason… You have done the right thing you know." Ziva said sympathetically.

Yaniv merely remained silent, staring down at his hands which where clasped on the table in front of him. The pain evident on his face. Having betrayed his brother was already making him feel heavy hearted, even though he knew logically that Ilan needed to be held accountable for his sins. The knowledge of this did not help ease the pain.

Ziva knowing only too well how he must feel, reached across the table and put her hand over Yaniv's. A look of surprise appeared on his face as he looked up at Ziva.

"We were friends once, of a sort," Ziva murmured "I know that my father hurt you when he did not show you the same interest that he showed in Ilan. But I think now, that maybe you are the lucky one. You have a way out of all this, while Ilan and I do not…"

"Ziva…"

"My father sealed mine and Ilan's fate, without us ever really having had a say in the matter. He trained me to be a cold-hearted assassin, and groomed Ilan as his heir. He ruined us…"

One solitary tear rolled unchecked down Ziva's cheek. "By helping us here today, you have gained a way out of this life."

Ziva stood abruptly, gasping as the sudden movement caused a jarring pain in her side.

Ziva stopped, her hand on the door handle, and turned back to face Yaniv. "We will not be able to release you properly until we have your brother in custody. Therefore, you will stay in NCIS custody until it is safe for us to release you."

Ziva cast one final glance at Yaniv, allowing him to see how thankful she was that he had told the truth. Then Ziva opened the door and fled.

* * *

In the observation room next door, Tony stood silently with Ziva's words echoing sadly in his mind. Tony could feel his partners pain as if it were his own. He knew what it was like to have a screwed up family, and a sad past. So did most of the team. But reminders of Ziva's past never got easier to hear. Tony turned around, expecting Ziva to come through the door at any moment to find him.

As the moments grew longer Tony got worried. Where was she?

He opened the door, and looked out into the corridor. Ziva was sat with her back straight against the wall. The look of sadness that she had been wearing in interrogation had gone. Now she just looked empty.

Not caring about his injuries Tony slid down the wall to sit beside his partner, his legs stretched out at full length, touching the wall opposite. He let his crutches fall on the floor.

Ziva turned to look at Tony.

"Even now he is dead my father's actions still seem to haunt me." She said sadly.

"Ziva… what can I do?" murmured Tony.

"You are already doing it." Ziva replied as she looked into Tony's eyes.

In answer to this, Tony put his arm protectively around Ziva's shoulders and pulled her closer. They sat in companionable silence for a while, before Ziva looked at Tony sadly and said:

"I don't know how to do this Tony."

"And what's that?" He replied with an encouraging smile.

"Being with you…" She answered.

Tony looked at her in shock, unsure of what he was supposed to say.

"I know that we have been becoming closer, and that scares me." Ziva continued.

"Ziva David, scared? No." Tony said softly.

"Yes. I was raised to depend on no one but myself, and although I have been becoming better at forming relationships… I am so afraid of losing you…" She trailed off uncertainly and looked down at the carpet.

"That's never going to happen, Ziva. I can wait as long as you need me too, you don't have to worry. I am not going anywhere."

"But what if I mess up? What if we don't work out?"

"I am not going anywhere, Ziva." Tony repeated simply.

For the first time since returning to NCIS that day, a happy but hesitant smile appeared unbidden upon Ziva's lips. She looked up at Tony and relaxed when she saw the look in his eyes. How could she even question him, she thought to herself. Out loud she said, "You always have my back."

Tony laughed softly as he remembered the last time Ziva had said that. In reply he leant forwards and brushed his lips against her cheek with a grin.

Ziva smiled, clearly remembering the same moment when she had kissed him in the men's room all those years before. Their relationship had changed so much since then.

Tony hefted himself to his feet, and held out a hand to Ziva. She took it without question, allowing him to pull her up carefully, so that she was standing beside him.

_**TBC… :)**_

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**A/N: I love reading your reviews so keep them coming! I hope you enjoyed the angsty Tiva driven 'fluff' in this scene. It was a lot of fun to write. x**


	14. Chapter 14

**Title: A Long Way Home (Chapter Fourteen)**

**Author: LizzieInk**

**A/N: Hello awesome readers! This chapter was so fun to write. It is a smidge on the short side but it is all in good fun. I thought it was needed after the previous, slightly more serious chapter. I hope you all enjoy it! :)**

**Disclaimer: These characters unfortunately do not belong to me.**

* * *

Tony and Ziva were both leant against their desks chatting comfortably about unimportant things, as they waited for Gibbs. It wasn't long before he arrived, as if appearing out of no where. Ziva quickly filled him in on what had happened when she had interrogated Yaniv.

Although Gibbs had hoped for more, a name was still more than he had realistically expected. He turned to Tony and Ziva, a commanding look in his eyes.

"Go back to Abby's. Both of you should still be resting as much as possible. I will call you when we have something solid on Bodnar."

Gibbs then turned to McGee, who had just sat down behind his own desk. "McGee, I want you to find out everything you can about a David Renner. Seems like he is the one helping Bodnar go under the radar. Find him. We find him, we find Bodnar."

"You got it, boss!" McGee said, as he began typing extremely quickly on his keyboard, his hands becoming a blur of movement.

Tony and Ziva shot one more look at Gibbs before they both headed towards the elevator, and ultimately back to Abby's apartment. Tony cringed to himself, as an uncomfortable thought hit him.

"How mad do you think Abby will be that we left her asleep, without telling her where we went?" Dinozzo asked.

"I left a note Tony," Ziva reasoned with him calmly.

"Oh… Yeah, but this is still Abbs we're talking about here. I bet she thinks Bodnar jumped out from behind the bushes and kidnapped us…" He said with a chuckle.

Ziva snorted in disbelief, "Abby is a grown woman Tony. I am sure she is fine."

Just as Ziva and Tony were exiting the Navy Yard, Ziva's phone rang. After glancing at it, without answering, Tony piped up; "It's Abby isn't it?"

It only took one look between them before they broke out into laughter.

* * *

Tony and Ziva had arrived back at Abby's apartment in good time. Just as Tony was about to open the door using Abby's spare key, the door swung open to show a very angry Abby. She stood glaring at them, her arms folded tightly across her waist.

"Oh, hey Abbs…" Tony began.

"Don't you 'hey Abbs' me Anthony Dinozzo. Why didn't you guys answer your phones?" Her bottom lip wobbled slightly, ruining her feigned angry stance.

Realising how worried they must have made her Tony stepped forward, transferring both of his crutches to one hand before he threw his other arm around Abby, pulling her close in a big bear hug.

"Sorry Abbs. We didn't mean to make you worry. Ziva left you a note for when you woke up, and then we just kinda got caught up in the case." Tony had the good sense to look guilty, and Abby, noticing his discomfort, brightened considerably. She hugged him back extra tight before letting go. Waggling a finger threateningly under his nose, she admonished him.

"Bad Tony!" Abby grinned, bouncing back quickly to her usual cheerful self. "I woke not long after you must have left, and I went out to do some shopping. I found some awesome stuff you guys, and I had the most amazing idea."

Tony raised his eyebrows slightly as she continued; "present baskets!" Abby squealed excitedly while pushing both Tony and Ziva gently over towards the coffee table. "I made one for both of you. Some of the stuff I had already. I was gonna give them to you later but this seemed too perfect. Here!" Abby dropped a basket in each of their arms.

Tony looked down at his basket curiously. It was wrapped in cellophane and there was a random assortment of gifts inside it, ranging from the usual snacks and magazines, to a pair of mini nerf guns, and then some more random items like brightly coloured anime bobble heads that had a slight resemblance to himself and Ziva.

"Thank you Abby, you did not need to do this." As Ziva said this, Tony was already ripping into his basket throwing the cellophane wrappings over his shoulder, and deftly snagging himself a mini nerf gun. "I always wanted one of these!" He exclaimed happily, his eyes sparkling with mischief.

Abby grinned delightedly at Tony's reaction, while Ziva merely rolled her eyes at Tony before she began to open her own basket.

Tony aimed the nerf gun at Ziva while she wasn't looking, and shot a foam projectile at her. His mouth gaped open in awe as her hand shot out and caught it before it made contact with the side of her head.

"How do you even do that? You weren't even looking."

Ziva just turned to smile at him mysteriously before continuing to peruse the contents of her basket. Abby had given her chocolates, bubble bath, a book, and amusingly enough some toy ninja stars. Ziva picked one of them up and grinned at Abby, while shaking her head in amusement.

Tony, still admiring his nerf gun, obliviously continued his own conversation: "We should take nerf guns on our next stake out!" He said to Ziva jokingly.

"You do and you will never see them again!" Ziva warned him.

Tony let out a sigh "…Yeah, that's for the best I guess. I might accidentally aim this at a suspect instead of my actual gun. Then we'd be in a pickle." He let out a low chuckle before placing the gun back amongst the other gifts in his basket.

"Thanks Abby," Tony said warmly.

"I'm glad you like them. I figured this way you guys will have something fun to do while I am at work. Speaking of which I should probably head back to the lab. I have other cases to work on as well as Bodnar's and I don't want to fall behind. I will see you guys later!"

Abby shuffled towards the door in her dangerously high platform shoes, grabbing her bag from a table on her way out. As the door snapped shut behind her, Tony turned to Ziva with a smile.

"I knew she wouldn't go a day without doing something crazy for us. Abby is definitely one of a kind!"

"She is an amazing friend." Ziva returned quietly with a smile.

"Although in all reality, the nerf gun Abbs got me is better in theory, because once I shoot them all, it means I would have to drag this damn cast everywhere trying to retrieve the foam darts." Tony looked a little downcast at the thought.

Ziva smiled at him consolingly. "We won't be injured forever Tony."

Tony hobbled towards Ziva on his crutches, and coming to a halt in front of her, he said: "Crutches are so annoying! I want to hug you, but then I'm like, do I put them in that hand, do I drop them?" As Tony tried to grasp both crutches in one hand, while still trying to remain in an upright position, Ziva put her arm around him, careful of her ribs, and nestled into his side.

Tony fell quiet for once, enjoying the closeness between himself and his partner.

_Baby steps, _he thought to himself with a smile, _baby steps._

* * *

**A/N:**** I am updating quickly because I have a job at a Ski Lodge for the winter season, so I am moving in about a month. I wanted to make sure I complete this fan-fiction before I go. I always hate it when people leave things unfinished so I am trying not to do that. There is a very real possibility that I won't get much writing done while I am there, because I plan to snowboard, and ski and hike as much as humanly possible. (I mean who wouldn't right?) I love love love writing, and the idea of leaving this unfinished breaks my heart, hence the pace.**

**Apologies for the insane length of this authors note, you guys are stars for sticking with me! Please take the time to leave feedback letting me know your thoughts on the story so far. :)**


	15. Chapter 15

**Title: A Long Way Home (Chapter Fifteen)**

**Author: LizzieInk**

**A/N: I have never written anything this involved before, and I am absolutely loving it. I am beginning to see many fan fictions in my future. Ha-ha. Thank you so much to the people who left the reviews for my previous chapter. They were so lovely and encouraging, and they inspired me to write this chapter all that much sooner. It is slightly shorter than usual I think but I hope you all still like it.**

**Disclaimer: still stands.**

* * *

Since Abby had left for work, Tony and Ziva being under strict orders to rest, had ended up laying side by side on the bed in Ziva's room. Neither of them had felt much like sleeping, and their wasn't much else they could do while they were injured, so they had settled for keeping each other company. Tony had been humming some Frank Sinatra under his breath for about 5 minutes before Ziva gave him a good prod in the side to shut him up.

"Ouch!" he yelped, rubbing his side in an exaggerated manner.

"I am bored, Tony." Ziva muttered. "Surely we would be better off at work than stuck here. I mean yes we are injured, but we are just as injured here as we would be there. Being home does not change the fact that we were hurt. I could be calling all my contacts, seeing if they know anything about Renner!"

"Hmmm…" Tony rubbed his chin, as he thought. "You know if you think about it, making phone calls isn't exactly work. I mean what's to stop you from getting in touch with an old friend? Reaching out to someone in your time of need?"

"Gibbs would be mad..." It made Ziva feel better knowing that Tony felt the same way she did, but she was still a little hesitant.

"You think that Gibbs would be sitting on his ass if he was injured?" Tony returned with a laugh, "the guys a bull dog, he'd be out tearing into suspects and you know it!"

Ziva smiled, "Maybe I will text McGee and nudge him towards a contact of mine that may be able to help." She plucked her phone out of her pocket and started texting at warp speed. "This guy owes me a favour, so if McGee drops my name into the conversation he should get something. At least it will make me feel like I have helped out a little."

"Ziva, you've already helped a lot! You got Yaniv to turn over information on his own brother." Tony turned to look at Ziva, who was watching him intently from her own side of the bed. They looked at each other for a moment. "Not many people could have handled that situation like you did. We are the victims here, we shouldn't get in the way too much. Trust me. Gibbs, Vance, McGee and Abbs are more than capable of handling this case without us, at least for the time being."

He trailed a hand along her arm, tracing his finger lightly over the many tiny scratches from the accident. Ziva watched him curiously. It felt nice, she thought to herself. She enjoyed Tony's company. His injuries didn't require him to stay laying down, but regardless of that he had barely left her side whenever they were alone. Ziva could see that he worried about her. Since they had left the hospital, whenever she had clutched her side or gasped in pain, his eyes had sought hers straight away, as if to ask her silently if she was okay. She sighed contentedly and closed her eyes. She felt so safe with him. He made her happy, she realised.

Tony continued to trace patterns on her arm, smiling softly. Then when he eventually stopped, Ziva's eyes snapped open, missing the warmth of his touch, and she angled her head upwards slightly to look into his eyes.

The love conveyed in Tony's eyes in that moment was overwhelming, and almost before she knew what she was doing, Ziva had leant forwards and kissed him. For once she forgot all of her worries, and instead focused on nothing but him. It took a moment for Tony to respond, as she had taken him completely by surprise, but a moment later he began to slowly deepen the kiss. Ziva sighed into his mouth, and pulled Tony closer, before letting out a gasp of pain. The sudden movement had not been good for her fractured ribs. Tony froze unsure whether to pull away or not, but after a moment Ziva opened her eyes and looked at him.

"I am okay," she murmured softly, and for the first time in a long time, she actually meant it. A little pain was worth the risk as long as she could be with Tony, Ziva thought to herself with a slow smile.

Tony smiled back at her happily, "Even so, maybe we should save making out until you're a little better." He teased.

Ziva merely punched him lightly on the shoulder before she snuggled into his chest, careful not to upset her tender ribs. Tony held her hand comfortingly within his own, and watched silently as his partner closed her eyes. He could feel her breathing slow as she fell asleep, and feeling totally content, Tony allowed himself to drift off to sleep with her.

* * *

It was almost midnight before Abby managed to get away from work. She had asked McGee if he wanted to crash at her place too, because she lived closer to the Navy Yard than he did. McGee needed to be back at work first thing in the morning due to a break in the case, and so he had been only too happy to accept Abby's offer.

As they unlocked the door to Abby's apartment, McGee continued the conversation they had been having on their way home from work.

"You know it's really due to Ziva's contact that we even got a break in the case."

McGee dropped his bag on the coffee table, before he began setting up the pull-out couch.

"I can't wait until they're both back at work with us," replied Abby "I mean I love having them stay with me, but it's so weird not seeing them at work… It's just not right."

"You're telling me. I have two empty desks staring me in the face whenever I sit down." McGee said sadly.

After taking off her platform shoes and black jacket Abby set off down the hall.

"I'm just going to check on Tony and Ziva," Abby said, leaving McGee to finish setting up the pull-out couch on his own. As McGee was putting the pillows and blankets in place, he heard a quiet exclamation from down the hall. Out of curiosity he went to see what Abby was doing.

"Everything okay?" He asked.

In answer, Abby just stepped aside allowing McGee to get a glimpse of the two agents cuddled up together on the spare bed. Abby and McGee smiled at each other before quietly exiting the room, and closing the door carefully behind them.

_To be continued…_

* * *

**A/N: I was originally planning on waiting until the end of this story to bring Tony and Ziva together, but while I was writing this chapter, I just couldn't help myself. It sort of ended up writing itself. What did you think? ;)**

**Not too much Tiva fluff I hope?**


	16. Chapter 16

**Title: A Long Way Home (Chapter Sixteen)**

**Author: LizzieInk**

**A/N: ****I would just like to thank you all for your continued support. It really does mean the world to me. Here is the latest chapter for you all to enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: these characters are not mine. I am just borrowing them.**

* * *

Tony was the first one to wake up. Looking down at his beautiful partner as she slept beside him, he smiled as he remembered the night before. The kiss they had shared had been mind-numbingly perfect. For one blissful moment they had both been able to forget about everything. At least until the pain from Ziva's injuries had brought them back down to earth. Although her gasp of pain had brought an end to their kiss, it did nothing to ruin the moment. If anything it had made it that much sweeter. After all, their injuries, and their subsequent need for each others comfort, had been what had finally drawn them together.

Tony sighed happily. Ziva looked so peaceful, sleeping beside him. Tony realised that this must be the first time since Ziva's father had died, that she had managed to sleep through the night without being woken by nightmares. He wondered if it had anything to do with him? It pleased him to think that he might have been able to ease her fears, allowing her to feel safe enough to let her guard down with him. He smiled contentedly to himself.

A sudden clattering sound from the lounge caused Ziva to wake up, only to find Tony watching her quietly. She smiled at him hesitantly, looking slightly unsure of what to say.

"Good morning!" He murmured. The softness of his voice quickly eased any of her worries, and she relaxed back against him comfortably.

"I think Abby's up," he said with a chuckle.

A moment later they heard not only Abby's voice, but also McGee's coming from the direction of the living room. Ziva's eyes shot up to meet Tony's, as he raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"McGee's here?" he queried, a note of confusion in his voice.

"He must have come home with Abby last night. What should we do? Surely they must know that we both slept in here together. What if they think…" She let the sentence trail off, as she caught the twinkle in Tony's eye.

"You want them to think that we are together?" She asked him curiously.

"Well, we are aren't we? Or at least we are starting to be. Would you mind if they thought that?" He replied.

"…No, but if Gibbs found out, perhaps he would." Ziva replied ruefully.

Tony considered that for a moment before answering. "Gibbs rules might work fine for him, but maybe now is the time to start making our own rules."

Ziva smiled in answer to this, before carefully extricating herself from the bed.

"Maybe we should." She murmured quietly, before heading to the en suite bathroom for a shower.

Tony continued to lie quietly for a moment, before finally dragging himself to his feet. He made a move for the crutches that he had leant against the bedroom wall the night before. Unfortunately he over-reached, and before he could stop himself, Tony fell to the floor with a loud thud. Ziva rushed out of the bathroom to see what the commotion was, while at the same time Abby poked her head around the bedroom door.

"Tony, oh my god are you okay?" The words tumbled out of Abby's mouth, as she rushed forward to help Tony to his feet. Eventually noticing Ziva standing awkwardly by the bathroom door, Abby cleared her throat and mumbled something unintelligible, before ducking quickly back out of the room.

"Oh yeah, they definitely think something happened." Said Tony, as he shook his head.

But this time it was Ziva who chuckled.

"Let them!" She said.

* * *

**A/N: So what did you think? ;)**

**I know that this chapter is ridiculously short, but I really liked the idea of leaving this scene by itself, as I thought the ending was perfect. :)**

**I didn't want to lessen the impact of the scene by adding more after it, so that's why it is shorter. Don't worry though, with chapters being uploaded every day it won't be long until you get to see what happens next, and I will try and make the next one longer for you again. Don't forget to let me know what you thought of this chapter! ;)**


	17. Chapter 17

**Title: A Long Way Home (Chapter Seventeen)**

**Author: LizzieInk**

**A/N: ****This chapter picks up about an hour after the previous one, so it skips out all the boring bathroom routines of getting showered etc. and jumps straight into the fun stuff. I hope you like it. :)**

**Disclaimer: Enough said. ;)**

* * *

Tony sat at the breakfast bar in the kitchen, his gaze travelling from McGee to Abby, and back again. Neither one of them had brought up the fact that Tony and Ziva had shared a room last night. Actually they were going out of their way to avoid the subject, which Tony found extremely amusing.

McGee had volunteered to make them all pancakes, while Abby was making the coffee. They had refused Tony and Ziva's offers of help, due to their recent injuries. McGee claimed teasingly that they would only be in the way.

Abby slowly carried the four coffees over to the breakfast bar, with two mugs balanced carefully in each hand. She slid one each in front of Tony and Ziva, and left hers and McGee's sat on the end of the counter side by side. As Tony and Ziva sipped at their coffees, Abby leant awkwardly against the counter and smiled at them both.

"So how did you guys sleep?" She asked Tony and Ziva hesitantly.

"Better than I have in a long time." Ziva replied, with a smile.

"Yeah, we slept well." Agreed Tony, sharing a private look with Ziva.

"Good." Replied Abby nervously.

After a moments silence McGee turned round, unable to keep quiet any longer.

"Okay I've got to ask. What is going on with you two?" He said.

"I do not understand what you mean." Ziva replied, with the hint of a smile.

"Then the two of you aren't…" McGee hesitated, not sure if he should continue.

"…you know… together… or anything?" Abby asked, completing McGee's sentence for him.

"Oh! That is what you meant, you should have said so McGee." Ziva admonished, "Yes, Tony and I are together now."

Ziva continued to drink her coffee nonchalantly. Tony laughed appreciatively at Ziva's laid back response, while McGee and Abby just stared at the two of their fellow agents in shock.

There was a moments silence, before Tony spoke up.

"McGee the pancakes are burning." He said.

* * *

A little later, Abby and McGee were discussing the events of that morning, as they entered the Navy Yard.

"I can't believe it!" She exclaimed in shock, "I mean Tony and Ziva…"

"We all knew their relationship was building up to this for a while though." McGee reasoned, logically. "It's not like we didn't expect this to happen at some point."

"Expect what to happen?" Asked a voice from behind them.

Abby spun around. "Gibbs!" She squealed. "Oh err, McGee and I were just talking about um…Tony and Ziva…"

"What about them?" Replied Gibbs calmly, although he already had a gut feeling about what they had been discussing.

Abby started mumbling about nonsense, and Gibbs didn't mention the abrupt subject change, as he followed Abby and McGee silently into the building.

_So it has happened at last_, Gibbs thought, astutely.

* * *

McGee had only been sat at his desk for about 15 minutes before his phone rang.

Gibbs looked over at his youngest team member, trying to gauge what was being said on the other end of the phone. Unfortunately McGee gave nothing away, and so Gibbs had to wait patiently.

McGee was scrawling something down on a piece of paper as he listened intently to the voice on the other end of the line. Just as he was finishing up with the call, Vance walked into the bullpen, hoping for a new lead.

"Anything?" He asked sharply.

"Actually," said McGee as he hung up the phone, "Ziva's contact just came through with some information for us. He has given me a list of four possible haunts that Renner frequently hides out at. He isn't sure if they're even still in use, as Renner seems to move around a lot, but it's the best lead we've got. I guess that means we have some stake outs to do, boss?" McGee asked, turning to Gibbs for confirmation.

"Too many places to hit at once McGee. Any way to narrow down from those 4 locations to where Renner might actually be hiding?"

"Sorry, boss. I'm afraid this is all we have to go on. Renner isn't the easiest guy to track down. As far as I can tell he never follows the same routine, which makes him hard to predict. We'll just have to check all four locations, and hope he turns up at one of them." McGee replied.

"So the two of you check out the first two locations and I will get two more agents to check out the second two." Vance said authoritatively.

He then proceeded to pull out his cell phone, and dialled a number, ordering another team of competent agents to hit 2 of the locations that he read out from McGee's memo pad.

Gibbs then barked out; "McGee grab your gear!" And the two agents headed quickly for the elevator.

* * *

Gibbs wasn't too pleased that new agents were being brought in on the investigation, but it didn't look like there was much choice in the matter. It had already been a couple of days since Tony and Ziva's car accident, and Gibbs knew that with every passing moment, the chance of capturing Bodnar before he disappeared became slimmer and slimmer. A well planned cover took time to create though, so all they could hope for at this point was that Bodnar would still be establishing his own cover before leaving the city. Gibbs refused to accept the fact that they might already be too late.

* * *

Meanwhile back at Abby's apartment, Ziva hung up the phone just as Tony joined her in the lounge. All Tony needed was one look at Ziva to know that something had happened.

"Ziva, what is it?" He asked seriously, all playfulness dissipating from his demeanour.

"My contact just called, Tony. He told me that he had just spoken to McGee to tell him that he has found four possible locations where Renner might be… but Tony I think I know which it is!" Said Ziva, a look of determination flashing in her eyes.

"I'm not going to like where you're going with this, am I?" asked Tony, as he used his crutches to walk closer to Ziva.

Ziva placed a hand on his chest, and looked unflinchingly into his eyes, and after taking a deep breath, she asked; "Tony do you remember what you said to me before my father's funeral, and at the hospital 2 days a go?"

"Of course. Aht lo leh-vahd… you are not alone." He said without hesitation.

"Did you mean it, Tony?" Ziva asked.

"Yes." Tony replied. After a beat he asked; "You want to go, don't you? To this place where you are sure Renner will be?"

"I have to Tony… and it is not Renner that I expect to find there." Ziva replied. "It is Ilan Bodnar."

* * *

**A/N: It's a little sad that this fan-fic is slowly approaching it's end, but at the same time I have a lot of new story ideas that I am extremely excited about writing. All NCIS related of course. So if you guys like my writing style feel free to favourite/follow me as an author, that way you will get to read my new stuff as soon as it comes out.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Title: A Long Way Home (Chapter Eighteen)**

**Author: LizzieInk**

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who left encouraging feedback for the previous chapter. I am glad that those of you who have commented, would be interested in reading a follow-up fan-fiction. I won't spoil the surprise by telling you my idea for the storyline. You'll just have to wait and check it out when I write it after this fic is complete. ****Anyway enough rambling. Here's the latest chapter. Enjoy! ;)**

**Disclaimer: …Do I really need to say it? Lol.**

* * *

It didn't take long for Tony and Ziva to get changed and grab their weapons. They had found their gear packed into the go-bags that Gibbs had brought them when they had first moved into Abby's apartment.

Tony holstered his weapon guiltily. Gibbs had obviously packed the weapons with their things so that they could protect themselves if they needed to. However, Tony seriously doubted that Gibbs would be impressed if he knew what his two senior agents were about to do. Tony did his best to ignore these thoughts, and push them from his head as he continued to get ready.

Doubt had no place on any op, but especially not one as important to them as this. If Renner, or as Ziva suspected, Bodnar, showed at the abandoned location to which they were heading, then they would have to act quickly. Bodnar was as well trained as Ziva and they would have to use extreme caution, which Tony thought, considering they were both still recovering from their injuries, would be hard enough as it was. But injured or not, if anyone would be able to stop Bodnar it would be Ziva. She knew how he thought, and that was the best defence they might have at this point. Tony just hoped that this would be enough.

5 minutes later Tony joined Ziva in the hallway by the door. Ziva had wrapped her ribs up as tightly as possible, so that she could fight if necessary. Her wrist which was still in a cast, remained as it was. There wasn't much that either of them could do about their respective casts.

Tony and Ziva shared a look. Tony could see the determination in Ziva's eyes and he tried to look similarly positive, hiding the worry he felt within.

"Are you ready?" He asked Ziva.

"Yes, I am." Ziva replied, allowing herself to fall back on her former Mossad training. After all, this op would take everything that they had left. Ziva was certain, almost without a doubt, that she would find Ilan where they were headed, and she refused to let him slip through her fingers. Not again.

* * *

_Meanwhile…_ Gibbs and McGee had arrived at the first location on their list; a recently condemned building on the outskirts of town.

It looked like it had been empty for a long time, but Gibbs knew better than anyone how misleading appearances could be. As he and McGee got out of the car, Gibbs signalled for his agent to take the back of the house while Gibbs himself opted to check out the front.

McGee nodded and quickly but quietly moved around the house and out of sight. Gibbs leant against the door, only to find that it wasn't even locked. He had a gut feeling that if anyone had been staying here, they were most likely long gone by now. Surely the door would be secured if Renner was still using this building as a safe house.

Gibbs kicked the door down and shouted "NCIS" as he began methodically clearing the rooms on his side of the house. Gibbs and McGee met in the middle of the building, both coming up empty handed.

"It's clear, boss." Said McGee, as he lowered his weapon. "It doesn't look like this place has been used for a while, and we don't even know if Renner or Hadar were ever even here. For all we know this place could have been used by squatters."

"Call for back-up. The building will need to be swept for prints. We may as well be thorough about this."

McGee nodded and took out his phone. "What are you going to do, boss?" He asked curiously, as Gibbs also pulled out his cell phone.

"I'm calling Ziva, McGee." And when McGee gave him a confused look in return, Gibbs muttered: "Call it a hunch."

* * *

It didn't take long for Tony and Ziva to realise that they were at the right place. The address was for an old abandoned warehouse, that was located beside a long-out-of-use aeroplane hangar. There was a small 2 man plane waiting off to the side of the runway, along with a man whose job appeared to be to fix the slightly dilapidated aircraft, and get it fit for take-off. By the looks of things he would still be at it for a while yet.

Tony and Ziva glanced at each other, before sliding as quietly as possible from the car. They had hidden out of sight near the property boundary, to make sure that they would go unnoticed. Ziva pulled a pair of binoculars from her bag and tried to get a closer look at the building and the surrounding property. As she did so, her phone began to buzz silently. Tony snagged the phone from the car and with a nod from Ziva, clicked answer.

"Hey Boss." He whispered as loud as he dared.

Tony grimaced as he listened patiently to the voice on the other end of the phone.

"Look Boss, this really isn't a good time…" Gibbs seemed to cut him off, as Ziva heard the buzz of speech coming through the phone, even though she was stood a couple of metres away from Tony.

"How'd you know that's where we are?" muttered Tony.

Not wanting to waste any more time, Tony said: "Look if you know where we are then get over here. Something's going down boss, and Ziva and I are not going to sit idly on our asses and let this guy get away. We're going in!"

Ziva had already started sneaking through the shadows towards the back entrance of the warehouse, and there was no way Tony was going to stay chatting on the phone while the woman he loved put herself in danger. He speedily hung up the phone, not caring that he cut Gibbs off in mid-sentence, and threw the phone back into the car.

Tony grabbed his crutches and as quickly as possible made his way towards the door where Ziva was now waiting for him.

Luckily Tony's crutches were tipped with rubber, so although they were a nuisance to have to take on an op, at least they allowed him to move without a sound. Due to Tony's distinct handicap, Ziva motioned that she would go in first, and after giving her a couple of seconds head start, Tony said a quick prayer under his breath before following her into the unknown.

* * *

**A/N: I hope you guys liked this latest instalment of A Long Way Home? This chapter was essential to move the storyline forwards, but the real fun is coming up next! Be sure to keep an eye out, because I am soo excited for the next chapter! I hope you all love it. Anyway what did you guys think of this latest chapter? Any theories on what you think might happen next? ;)**


	19. Chapter 19

**Title: A Long Way Home (Chapter Nineteen)**

**Author: LizzieInk**

**A/N: And here it is… the chapter we have all been waiting for! ;) ****Well, realistically I don't know if you guys have or not, but I sure have! I have been looking forward to writing this chapter for a while. I hope that it meets everyone's expectations. I have decided to just block out all outside influences and just write this chapter true to how I have always envisioned it. ****Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this; my favourite chapter yet! ;)**

**Disclaimer: The characters in this story are the property of the creators of NCIS.**

* * *

Gibbs cursed loudly as he stuffed his phone unceremoniously back into his pocket. Then he ran out of the building like a bat out of hell, and quickly climbed into his car.

"McGee get your ass in here!" He barked out, as he turned the keys in the ignition, and revved the engine mercilessly.

However McGee, who had been watching Gibbs ever since he had been on the phone, had already seen the warning signs that Gibbs had been exhibiting. As Gibbs had called out for him to get in the car, McGee was already hot on Gibbs trail.

It didn't take long before Gibbs was burning rubber, driving for what he was; a man on a mission. He only hoped that he would get to Tony and Ziva in time before they did something really stupid.

* * *

Tony and Ziva were positioned one at either side of the rear entrance to the warehouse. Ziva signalled with her good hand, before starting to count down from three on her fingers.

Three… Two… One!

Ziva kicked the door down with one swift kick to its centre. The hinges splintered, and the door fell inwards with a resounding crash, causing the two agents to flinch.

_There goes the element of surprise, _Tony thought to himself, as he and Ziva quickly entered the building.

Tony had left one crutch at the door of the building. By balancing his weight between his good leg and his one remaining crutch, that meant he could still move fairly quickly, but more importantly it allowed him the freedom to use his gun with his free hand. Tony stayed behind Ziva, allowing her to take the lead while he kept his eyes open for any movement.

Just as they were about to enter the second door that separated the corridor from the main warehouse space, the door burst open.

The sight that Tony and Ziva were met with was terrifying, as not only Hadar and David Renner burst forth guns in hand, but it was the shadow behind the two men that brought a reaction from Ziva.

"…Ilan." She spat out his name, as if it were a poison upon her tongue.

Luckily Tony had the sense to pull Ziva quickly through an open door on their left, before Bodnar's lackeys had a chance to aim their guns properly. Quick to get over her shock, Ziva upturned a large metal desk that was against a wall, giving herself and Tony just enough time to jump behind it. Mere seconds later shots were fired, taking sizeable chunks out of the crumbling wall behind them.

Tony ducked his head as another shot was fired in his direction, while Ziva managed to fire off a round in the direction of the door. It was no good, they were pinned down.

Ziva looked around quickly before purposefully catching Tony's eye. She signalled that he should be ready to fire. She was going to run for it. Before Tony had a chance to react, she was already up and running, and taking advantage of the much needed distraction Tony managed to hit Renner with one shot squarely in the chest.

_One down, _he thought to himself as he tried to spot Ziva. She had managed to wedge herself behind a row of lockers in the far corner of the room. This time it was Tony's turn to be the distraction. From her current position Ziva had no clear view of the door, behind which Hadar was hiding. She could still see Tony though, so at his signal she jumped out and barrelled towards the door as Tony stood up to fire his gun.

Ziva ran straight into Hadar, knocking him flat, and a fist fight ensued, while Hadar helplessly tried to reach for his gun which had been knocked clear. Tony aimed his weapon straight between Hadar's eyes, causing the man to stop fighting instantly.

Ziva jumped off of him and quickly made for the door.

"Ziva," Tony said roughly, "be careful."

Ziva nodded, her eyes speaking the words that she herself could not, before she ran towards the main storage space where she had last seen Bodnar.

* * *

Gibbs' car screeched to a halt outside the warehouse, mere metres away from where Ziva had parked. After exiting the vehicle, Gibbs first move was to feel the hood of Ziva's car.

Meanwhile McGee had stopped cold a few metres ahead.

"Boss?" He said.

That one word had Gibbs jogging to his agents side, gun raised. The sight that greeted him was of the broken down door, courtesy of Ziva.

"They've been here at least 15 minutes, McGee. We move fast, got it?" Gibbs ordered.

The two agents took off into the building, carefully clearing rooms and looking for any sign of life within. It was McGee that heard a muffled sound ahead, and he signalled to Gibbs accordingly.

"NCIS," Gibbs yelled angrily.

"In here, boss." shouted Dinozzo from somewhere up ahead.

As Gibbs and McGee rounded the corner into the room, they saw Tony standing at full height with his gun aimed down unflinchingly at Hadar's head.

"Ziva?" Gibbs shouted out.

"Not here, boss. She ran after Bodnar about 2 minutes before you got here."

As Tony caught Gibbs up on what had been happening, McGee stooped down and dragged Hadar to his feet, cuffing him to a sturdy pipe that was running along the length of the wall beside them. After making sure that Hadar was secure, Tony grabbed his crutch and quickly led them in the direction in which Ziva had ran moments earlier.

No one bothered to move Renner's body from where it had fallen. Tony's shot had been fatal, and the man had died almost instantly.

Tony ignored the pain in his heavily cast leg as he practically ran through the large open warehouse at the rear of the building. Just as his team approached the now-open door at the end of the room, a man sprung out from behind a large wooden crate and began shooting at them wildly.

Tony, McGee and Gibbs had no choice but to throw themselves down on the ground, as bullets continued to fly above them.

* * *

_Meanwhile outside…_

Ziva was close. She knew it. On a hunch she had sprinted straight through the warehouse at full speed and headed straight for the aeroplane hangar out to the side of the property. If she were Bodnar, it's where she would have headed first.

Confident in her estimations of her old friend, Ziva scanned the area surrounding the small plane. She tried to remain concealed within the shadows of the building as much as possible.

Just as Ziva was contemplating whether or not she should move, she caught a flash of movement out of the corner of her eye. She only had time to brace herself before Bodnar knocked her to the ground. Ziva kicked out at him, sending his gun flying. A second later he was on top of her pinning her to the ground, as he tried to prise her own weapon from her hand. Ziva wrapped her legs around Bodnar and used all of her weight to flip him onto his back. She screamed as a blistering pain erupted from her side.

Ziva's ribs had finally had enough.

_Please not now, _she thought to herself as she struggled to keep from passing out.

Bodnar used Ziva's momentary weakness to his advantage as he once again flung her to the ground, before picking up Ziva's gun, and aiming it directly at her head.

Moments later a shot rang out deafeningly in the vast expanse of space.

All Ziva could do was take one last look at the man in front of her, before the world around her faded to black.

* * *

**A/N: Talk about leaving you guys with a major cliff-hanger! **

**I had soo much fun writing this scene. I have never written anything so fast-paced before and I absolutely loved it. I hope that it reads okay? **

**So what did you think? Will Ziva be okay? And what about the rest of the team, who remember, are still ducking bullets in the warehouse. I'd love to hear what you guys think! ;)**

**New chapter will be up tomorrow, I promise! Please Review! :)**


	20. Chapter 20

**Title:**** A Long Way Home (Chapter 20)**

**Author:**** LizzieInk**

**A/N:**** Apologies for leaving you guys with the cliff hanger at the end of the last chapter. I hope this new chapter allows you to hate me a little less. ;)**

**Disclaimer:**** The characters in this story belong to the creators of NCIS.**

* * *

_Ziva's ribs had finally had enough._

_Please not now, she thought to herself as she struggled to keep from passing out._

_Bodnar used Ziva's momentary weakness to his advantage as he once again flung her to the ground, before picking up Ziva's gun, and aiming it directly at her head. _

_Moments later a shot rang out deafeningly in the vast expanse of space. _

_All Ziva could do was take one last look at the man in front of her, before the world around her faded to black._

* * *

Bodnar's body dropped like a stone, as Tony forced himself forward with his gun still raised. Tony slowly walked towards Bodnar, using his one remaining crutch. He winced every time his cast hit the floor, but he still didn't waver, keeping his gun aimed true.

It wasn't necessary.

Tony looked down into Bodnar's unseeing eyes, and only then did he allow himself to let go of the breath that he hadn't even realized he had been holding.

He dropped his gun and lowered himself to the floor beside Ziva. The rise and fall of her chest alerted his keen eyes to the fact that she was in fact still alive, but the blossoming pool of blood on her shirt worried him immensely. She had obviously made her wounds from the car crash much worse.

He just kept repeating _she's alive _over and over in his head, as he pulled his cell phone from his pocket to phone for back-up, as well as a much needed ambulance or two.

After the operator had assured him that help was on the way, Tony placed his hand gently against Ziva's cheek, feeling comforted by the warm skin beneath his fingers.

When Tony had exited the warehouse and seen Ziva lying there defenceless on the ground, he had shot Bodnar instinctively without even needing to think about it. His heart had almost stopped at the thought that he might lose Ziva. There was no way he would ever let that happen though, not while there was breath left in him.

Looking down at his partner, Tony leant forwards and carefully placed a kiss on her forehead, as Gibbs and McGee approached the scene from the warehouse behind him.

* * *

Luckily for Tony, the unknown shooter in the warehouse had seen Gibbs and McGee as the greater threats, which considering neither of them was on crutches, was probably a wise move on the shooters part. Tony had used the attackers assumption to his advantage and had escaped out of the warehouse to go in search of his partner.

Gibbs and McGee had stayed behind to subdue the man. Gibbs now had him in cuffs, and was pushing him along in front of him. The man had sworn that there were no more men in the warehouse, but being thorough as usual, Gibbs and McGee had done a quick sweep to double check before finally following Tony out of the warehouse.

The relief on Gibbs' and McGee's faces was clear to see as they approached Tony and Ziva. The sight of Tony carefully watching over his partner, told them instantly what they were as yet unable to see for themselves. That Ziva was alive.

As they got closer, McGee and Gibbs could both see with a sigh of relief, that although injured, both agents had been very fortunate indeed.

* * *

Moments later, Ziva's eyes fluttered open, and slowly focused on the face floating above her.

"Tony…" She muttered.

Tony breathed a sigh of relief and leant forwards, so that his eyes where level with Ziva's.

"Hey, sleepy head." Tony murmured lovingly.

"Out of everyone in the world who could have found me…" Ziva choked out, her voice rough with pain. A small smile graced her lips, as she looked up into Tony's eyes.

…_It had to be you. _

Remembering Somalia, Tony shivered at the memory of the last time that Ziva had uttered that sentence to him, but he smiled down at Ziva anyway.

"Did you ever doubt I would?" Tony replied, with his trademark grin.

Ziva smiled peacefully up at him before closing her eyes, and allowing herself to rest once more.

* * *

As the sound of ambulance sirens became increasingly apparent from nearby, Tony dropped down onto his back beside Ziva, the adrenaline was quickly wearing off, causing all of the intense pain from his leg to finally invade his senses. Tony gritted his teeth as a wave of nausea passed over him. He managed to fight it off, but he had started to shake uncontrollably.

Gibbs, seeing that his favourite agent had finally reached the end of his tether, knelt down and placed a comforting hand on Tony's shoulder as they waited for the ambulance to pull up.

"Hey, they're over here!" A voice yelled from the side of the building.

Gibbs automatically raised his gun before realizing that it was just the paramedics arriving. Re-holstering his weapon, he breathed a sigh of relief as he watched two of his agents; his family, being loaded into the back of the awaiting ambulance.

* * *

After Gibbs had made sure Tony and Ziva were finally en route to the hospital, he made tracks back towards the warehouse, pulling out his battered phone from his pocket.

"Duck?" He said into the phone; "Got two bodies for you."

After rattling off his current location, Gibbs hung up and turned to face his one remaining agent.

"McGee, secure that jackass in the car. I'll retrieve Hadar from where you cuffed him inside. Got the keys for your cuffs?"

McGee tossed them to him, as he led the unknown shooter away, as ordered. Gibbs snagged the keys from mid-air, catching them deftly, and quickly returned to the room in which they had found Tony standing watch over Hadar. Stepping over Renner's prone body, Gibbs un-cuffed the other man from the pipes where he had been left, and dragged him back to where they had parked. McGee had already secured the other man in Gibbs' car, so Gibbs shoved Hadar into Ziva's, which luckily remained unlocked.

"Boss, looks like that back-ups finally here." Said McGee, as 2 cars pulled up beside them.

Gibbs went over to talk to one of the men, and quickly returned to where McGee was waiting.

"They're going to work the crime scene. We need to get these two idiots back to the Navy Yard." Gibbs said. "Once we drop them back at NCIS we can make tracks for the hospital to check on the others. I'll drive Ziva's car, you take mine." And with that Gibbs was already sliding into the drivers seat of Ziva's car.

McGee nodded and followed suit, eager for the moment when he would be reunited with the rest of their team.

* * *

**A/N: This fan-fiction is slowly creeping closer and closer to its end. There are still at least a couple of chapters to come, however the danger for our favourite agents is finally over. Now comes the healing... **

**Thanks for your continued support. Please review! ;)**


	21. Chapter 21

**Title:**** A Long Way Home (Chapter Twenty-One)**

**Author:**** LizzieInk**

**A/N:**** I know I am a day late uploading this and I am sorry! I almost finished it yesterday but it wasn't quite right, so I kept it until today and re-worked it a little bit before uploading. Anyway, here it is! Enjoy! ;)**

**Disclaimer:**** remains in place.**

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Tony and Ziva were once again both being treated at the hospital. Considering everything they had been through, they had both done pretty well to get off so lightly. Tony was currently having a new cast put on his leg, while another nurse was cleaning and re-bandaging Ziva's wounds in the bed next to him.

During her fight to the death with Bodnar, Ziva had managed to rip out some of the stitches near her ribs and had made the wound a lot worse, probably adding an extra couple of weeks to her recovery time. However, in the end it was Tony who had come off worse from the days unauthorized mission. By constantly putting so much strain and unnecessary weight on his already broken leg, he had ensured himself not only an extra month wearing his leg cast, but he also had a lot of physiotherapy in his future.

The day had been hard on everyone, not only physically, but also mentally. Tony felt worn out, and looking across at Ziva in the bed next to him he knew that she wasn't far off from it either. At least now that the danger was over with, he and Ziva would be able to focus on building what they had together.

However, Tony realized that after the tiring day that they had both had, that was probably a conversation best left for another day. Instead he fell back to his default setting; humour.

Looking over towards Ziva, Tony chuckled to himself.

"You know I totally saved you today… yep. I was like a knight in shining armour." He said with a cocky grin.

"Maybe… except instead of armour you were wearing bandages." Ziva replied with a laugh.

"Not quite as pretty as armour perhaps, but under the circumstances, still pretty damn impressive." Tony said, looking at Ziva for confirmation.

She was only happy to give it. Smiling back at him, she replied; "You are right. You were pretty amazing today, Tony."

Tony chuckled. "It wasn't just me though. You know some people might say we make a good team…"

"Oh? And which people would that be?" Ziva asked teasingly.

Tony cocked his head to the side, and raising an eyebrow suggestively; "Me." He said.

Ziva blushed and smiled at him, the laughter from moments before still sparkling in her eyes.

The moment was broken slightly when they heard a throat being cleared from the door.

"Dinozzo's not the only one that thinks the two of you make a good team." Said Gibbs grudgingly. "But that being said, if either of you ever goes behind my back like that again, you are both stuck with desk work for the rest of your lives. Do you understand me?"

Replies of "Yes Boss" and "Sorry Gibbs" sounded quietly from the two patients, as they looked guiltily up at their boss.

Gibbs hesitantly stepped forwards before saying; "We're family. Next time you come up with one of your hair-brained ideas, you call me. Okay? You call me." He looked at both of his agents, his family, and smiled grudgingly before continuing.

"When you're finished getting fixed up you have some visitors. They want to make sure you get home safe." Gibbs said mysteriously before leaving the room.

When the nurses had finally finished patching up Tony and Ziva, and gotten both of them to promise to rest properly this time, the two agents were finally discharged. Tony had been given a new pair of crutches, to help him get about more easily. He never had been able to retrieve his old ones from the warehouse. He supposed they had later been processed as part of the crime scene. As Tony slowly headed out of their hospital room, Ziva kept pace beside him.

They had both been given painkillers to help them fight off the pain of the days events, but even so it was still hard work just to put one foot in front of the other.

"Mmmm…" Ziva murmured. "I don't think I have ever looked forward to time off work before, but I cannot wait to get back to my own comfortable apartment. I feel as if I could sleep for a week." She let out a long yawn as she and Tony walked companionably together through the hospital corridors.

As they were rounding the corner to the waiting room, Tony and Ziva both came to an abrupt stop. There before them stood; Gibbs, Ducky, Abby, McGee, Palmer and Breena. All of their friends and family had come to make sure that they were okay. Even Vance stood off to one side with his two children beside him.

Looking out into the sea of smiling faces before them, Ziva's eyes filled with happy tears, and Tony, his voice gruff with emotion, stepped forward towards Vance.

"Are we good?" Tony asked Vance quietly.

"Yes, Tony. It is over. As the Director of NCIS I have to tell you how stupid it was to go in alone like you did. However, as a friend I wanted to thank you…both of you." Vance looked over at Ziva and smiled.

Ducky stepped forward to give Ziva a hug, while Tony and Vance shook hands.

"How are you feeling, my dear?" Ducky asked Ziva.

"I am glad that it is all finally over." She replied with a smile.

Palmer and Breena came forward to give Ziva a hug next, while Tony was playfully hugged from both sides by both McGee and Abby. After Tony managed to un-sandwich himself from his two friends, he laughingly asked; "So which one of you is giving me a ride home?"

Gibbs stepped forward. "Well now that Bodnar is dead and we have the people that helped him in custody, the two of you no longer need to stay at Abby's. She has your stuff in her car. Ducky has offered to take Ziva home, and I don't mind taking you, Dinozzo."

"That's awfully nice of you, thanks Boss." Said Tony, sounding quite pleased with Gibbs' offer.

They all slowly made their way out into the parking lot, arms linked, all talking over each other and laughing companionably.

Ziva looked around herself quietly taking it all in. It had taken a long time for her to fit in at NCIS, but now she couldn't imagine life without all of her friends; her family, around her. She smiled to herself as a realization hit her; _It has taken a very long time to get here, but here in this moment, I finally feel like I am home._

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**A/N: I hope you have all enjoyed this chapter? I found it harder to write than I thought I would. There is one more chapter to go, which I will upload tomorrow. It will be an epilogue. A beautiful ending to my story. I hope you will all think so too. :)**


	22. Chapter 22

**Title:**** A Long Way Home (Chapter 22)**

**Author:**** LizzieInk**

**A/N:**** Now, really the previous chapter was the ending to my story. I suppose you could say that this short chapter is a bonus, to say thanks for all of your support. This was my first ever full length fan-fiction, and I never expected to get anywhere near this much positive feedback. I really appreciate it. I especially want to thank those of you that reviewed after every chapter without fail. It has meant so much to me! ;)**

**Disclaimer:**** These characters have merely been borrowed for the duration of this story.**

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**EPILOGUE**

Tony stood outside his apartment, with his key in his hand. So much had happened since he had last stepped foot inside its walls. He had been on a whirlwind trip to Berlin with Ziva, they had been in a major car crash, had stayed with Abby, he and Ziva had finally admitted their feelings for each other, not to mention that they had taken part in a major showdown with Bodnar. It gave Tony a headache just thinking about everything that had happened within the past week.

Gibbs laid a strong comforting hand on Tony's shoulder, breaking him out of his reverie.

"You okay, Dinozzo?" Gibbs asked.

"Yeah, boss. Still trying to get used to everything that's happened I guess." Tony admitted.

Gibbs took the key from Tony and unlocked the apartment door, and kicking it open swiftly with his foot, Gibbs stepped through the doorway before dropping Dinozzo's bag inside.

"You good?" Gibbs asked Tony, a fatherly concern clear in his eyes.

"I will be. Thanks for the ride home, Boss."

Gibbs nodded understandingly and smiled at Tony.

"You and Ziva both have two weeks off before I expect you both back at work for desk duty. Rest up, okay? I'll see you soon." And with that Gibbs left, leaving Tony to the peace and quiet of his apartment.

_It's strange_, Tony thought to himself, _that what I used to think of as my fortress, now just feels empty._

Looking around him Tony let out a sigh before slowly hobbling in on his crutches, and pushing the apartment door shut behind him. He flopped down on the couch, and closed his eyes with a tired sigh, as he finally allowed himself to catch up on some much needed sleep.

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When Tony woke up some time later, darkness had crept its way into the room. Rain lashed relentlessly against the windows, causing the lights given off by other buildings to blur. Tony sat up groggily and ran a hand through his hair. He pulled out his cell phone to check the time, only to find that he had been dozing for four hours. Tony's phone also had a bunch of unread messages on it. He must have been out cold not to hear his phone beeping, Tony mused.

Tony opened his messages folder and found that he had texts from both Abby and Palmer, as well as a voicemail from McGee. He couldn't help but notice that there were none from Ziva, but he shook the thought away almost as quickly as it had arrived. Ziva was most likely fast asleep just like he had been. Tony toyed with the idea of sending her a playful text message, but he ultimately decided against it. He didn't want to risk waking her up if she had fallen asleep.

Tony yawned and tossed his phone onto the coffee table. Picking up his crutches from the floor, he made his way into the kitchen, with the idea that he might attempt to throw some kind of meal together. Tony opened his fridge and leant forward to see what he could find, only to back-up quickly. Well, maybe he would order Pizza he thought to himself, as the smell of gone off milk permeated the air around him. He shut the door forcefully, trying to block out the smell. Tony was making a promise with himself to blitz the fridge properly when daylight came, when all of a sudden he heard a sharp knock.

Hobbling back through his lounge, Tony swung his apartment door open, wondering who on earth would possibly be visiting him at 3am.

Tony's face lit up when he saw who was on the other side of his door.

"Hey partner," Ziva whispered as she stepped forward into Tony's arms.

Tony hugged her carefully, being extremely weary of her ribs. He kissed her lightly on the cheek before stepping back and allowing her to come into his apartment.

_Maybe these next couple of weeks won't be so lonely after all, _Tony thought to himself with a smile.

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**A/N: I hope you liked this bonus chapter? :) Thank you all for everything. If you liked this story/my writing style please be on the look-out for my follow-up fan fiction which will be called "From Here To Paternity." I have included the synopsis for it below so you can see what you think. Would you be interested in reading this story? ;)**

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**BONUS CONTENT:**

'**From Here to Paternity' Synopsis:**

"_A girl with no name turns up at NCIS, covered in blood and carrying a marine's dog tags; her fathers. Unable to speak she turns to the one person that has the capacity to understand."_

Themes: Friendship, hurt/comfort, family. Deaf community/sign language.

All characters included, but Abby will be the main focus of this story.

Established Tiva. Follows on from my 'A Long Way Home' fan-fiction.


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